Guwahati: Governor of Maharashtra Bhagat Singh Koshyari in a letter sent on Monday criticised Home Minister Amit Shah for his previous remarks that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an “ancient idol” and claimed that he could not even fathom insulting the illustrious Maratha warrior.
The letter read, “Some people have taken a small part of my speech at the University out of context. I told the students that when we were students, some students considered Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru ji, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose etc as role models. It is natural that the youth of the present generation will need role models to follow. Talking about Maharashtra, I said that in today’s context, good examples can be from Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar to Nitin Gadkari.”
“As far as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is concerned, he is not only the pride of Maharashtra but the pride of the whole country. The meaning is not to insult the great men of the past. It was not even a matter of comparison,” the letter added.
“Even if I accidentally make a mistake somewhere, then I will immediately apologize. I do not hesitate to do so. These people have set an example of courage and sacrifice, insulting personalities like Maharana Pratap, Shri Guru Gobind Singh and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj cannot be imagined even in dreams,” the letter further read.
It should be noted that the letter was written after he sparked controversy on November 19 by referring to Chhartrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a “old lady” while speaking at a gathering at Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangbad.
The opposition to the state and the Maratha warrior’s heirs have both criticised the comment.
Following the remark, a descendant of Shivaji and Rajya Sabha MP Udayanraje Bhonsle wrote a letter to President Droupadi Murmy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others and demanded to dismiss Koshyari.