Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Credit: Facebook/bsKoshyari
Mumbai: Congress leaders Harshwardhan Sapkal and Varsha Gaikwad on Monday slammed the decision to confer the Padma Bhushan on former Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, whose tenure in the state between September 2019 and February 2023 was marked by run-ins with the Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Uddhav Thackeray.
Maharashtra Congress chief Sapkal said Koshyari had insulted a constitutional office and hurt the sentiments of the people of the state.
Speaking after attending the Republic Day function at the Congress office here, Sapkal said he himself had declined an award from a social organisation in Pune as it was to be presented by Koshyari.
Mumbai Congress chief and Lok Sabha MP Varsha Gaikwad said BJP has a long history of insulting Maharashtra's great leaders and constitutional icons and alleged Koshyari had earlier made remarks disrespectful to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule.
"Honouring such a person with a Padma award is an insult to Maharashtra," she said.