'Inflammatory' remarks mar Shivaji jayanti

Following BJP MLC's statements, Minister threatens to walk out

Angered by the “inflammatory” remarks of BJP MLC Go Madhusudan, Revenue and district in-charge minister, V Srinivas Prasad, threatened to stage a walkout during Shivaji jayanti celebrations, in Mysuru, on Thursday.

The incident occurred at Kala Mandir in the city, during the programme organised by district administration and Chatrapathi Shivaji Jayanthyutsava Samithi. Speaking at the meeting, Go Madhusudan, quoted a Hindi poem by Gangadhar Pandit, the person who had coronated Shivaji, in which Pandit speaks about what would have happened, if Shivaji was not a king - “Kashi ki kala gayo, Mathura masjid huyi; Agar Shivaji nahi hota, toh Sunnat hotha Sabki,”. When translated, it means, “The art of Kashi is gone, Mathura has become a mosque; if not for Shivaji, we would all be circumsised.”

“Pandit has said that the country would not have remained a Hindu nation, if not for Shivaji. He was the only king after the rulers of Vijayanagara empire to declare himself as a Hindu king,” Madhusudan went on to add.

Madhusudan said that after Shivaji, the contribution of Peshwas was immense towards freedom struggle. “Social organisations have to learn a lot from Shivaji,” he added.

Ghar Wapsi
Madhusudan also claimed that Shivaji was the first person to practice ‘ghar wapsi’. His close aide, Netaji Palkar had converted to Islam, after his association with Mughal emperors. However, Shivaji saved him from Mughals and married Netaji to a Marathi girl. Congress leader Balgangadhar Tilak too was all praise for Shivaji, he said.

At this juncture, Srinivas Prasad, who was present at the programme, stood up and objected to the statements made by Madhusudan. Prasad asked him to refrain from making inflammatory remarks, as it was not a programme organised by the Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Stating that the programme was organised by the district administration, he threatened to stage a walk out. However, MP Pratap Simha and BJP leader E Maruti Rao Pawar cajoled Prasad and stopped him from walking out.
Madhusudan justified his statements, saying that he was not making any inflammatory remarks, and was only recollecting the history of the country.

Speaking after the programme, Prasad said that he had requested Madhusudan to refrain from making inflammatory statements like Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) leader, Praveen Togadia. “I told him that if he wanted to make such remarks, he could use the forums of VHP, Bajrang Dal, RSS or Srirama Sene,” he said.

Contradicting the statements made by Madhusudan, he said that the rule of Peshwas cannot be compared to the rule of Shivaji. “In the history of the country, there has been no kingdom which has been as casteist and fundamentalist, as the Peshwas,” he said.
Criticising Madhusudan, he said that the BJP leader should have highlighted how the ideals of Shivaji had become an inspiration to the society. “It is wrong to project Shivaji as the leader of Hindu organisations only,” Prasad said.