Mumbai: Expressing his disappointment, BJP leader Udayanraje Bhosale, a direct descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, on Tuesday said that nobody in the world could be compared with his ancestor. He was referring to a book by BJP leader Jay Bhagwan Goyal titled “Aaj Ke Shivaji: Narendra Modi”, which has created a political storm in the state, where the Maratha warrior is a highly revered figure.
When asked whether he would be speaking to the BJP high command, Mr Bhosale said he would seek action against the author. “But I have come to know that Goyal has withdrawn the book...Forget about the book, even Goyal can be withdrawn”, he said.
Mr Bhosale also dared the Shiv Sena to remove Shiv from its name and call their party “Thackeray Sena”. The former Satara MP taunted that he would like to see how many people would stand behind the Sena if it changed its name.
“When the Shiv Sena was baptized, when the word ‘Shiv’ was used, did you come and ask the descendants?” Mr Bhosale asked. “Those who are seeking my stand or clarification, I will show them their place,” he said.
Further hitting out at Uddhav Thackeray’s party, which is leading the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi alliance government, he asked, “Why the word ‘Shiv’ was removed from ‘Maha Shiv Aghadi’?”
Without taking anyone’s name, Mr Bhosale said that some people were like dogs without a leash, unnecessarily poking their nose in every issue. “I do not want to take his name and make him big, rather he was never that big. But I feel sad over the blame game. I never misused Chhatrapati’s legacy,” he said while taking a dig at Sena MP Sanjay Raut. Mr Raut had dubbed the book “insulting”, asking Chhatrapati Shivaji’s descendants to clarify their stand over the issue.
Indirectly taking a swipe at the NCP chief, Mr Bhosale said only Shivaji Maharaj could be called the ‘Janata Raja’. His supporters in NCP refer to Mr Pawar as ‘Janata Raja’.
Mr Bhosale said, “Calling someone ‘Janata Raja’ is belittling Shivaji. Nobody in the world can be compared with him. There was only one ‘Janata Raja’, so think before calling someone ‘Janata Raja’.”
