Pressure mounting for removal of Governor; Shivaji’s descendants write to Prez, PM

Both descendants had earlier condemned the statement of the Governor

Pressure is mounting for the removal of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for his comments on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with the descendants of the iconic legendary Maratha warrior now writing to President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chhatrapati UdayanRaje Bhosale of Satara royal seat and Yuvraj SambhajiRaje Chhatrapati of Kolhapur royal family -- both 13th descendents of Shivaji Maharaj -- are up in arms against Koshyari.

At the convocation ceremony of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Koshyari had said: “…Earlier, when you would be asked who is your icon -- Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi used to be the answers. In Maharashtra, you need not look elsewhere as there are so many icons here. While Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is of olden days, there are Babasaheb Ambedkar and Nitin Gadkari who are heroes of present days.”

UdayanRaje has shot off letters to the President, Prime Minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

SambhajiRaje has written letters to the President and Prime Minister.

Both had earlier condemned the statement of the Governor.

In his letter, UdayanRaje, a Rajya Sabha member of the BJP, said: “It pains me and has caused great grief to the people of Maharashtra and India on the recent derogatory remarks made by honourable Governor of Maharashtra against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. His statements are contradictory to the beliefs of the nation. If statements of these nature aren’t curtailed it would be unfortunate to see the nation divided over this and society being put to unrest."

In his letter, SambhajiRaje said: “...The statement of the Governor has pained people. Such statements may create unrest. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj not only inspires Maharashtra but also the entire nation. It has hurt the sentiments of people...”

The formal letters to Murmu and Modi came at a time when Koshyari had been summoned to New Delhi.