Chhagan Bhujbal remarks raise eyebrows in ruling front in Maharashtra

Mumbai: Chhagan Bhujbal is one of the senior-most leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit) that is in alliance with the Shiv Sena -BJP government. Of late, he has been making statements that are music to the opposition camp and embarrassing his own government triggering speculation on his future moves.

On Thursday, Chhagan Bhujbal defended Jitendra Awhad of the rival NCP (Sharad) faction for tearing up a poster of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar. Awhad had 'mistakenly' torn a poster of Ambedkar during a protest against the inclusion of a poem from Manusmriti in a school textbook. Awhad claimed that he had mistakenly torn Ambedkar's photo but the BJP has latched on to it and begun demonstrations across the state against Awhad demanding his arrest claiming that he tore Ambedkar's photo deliberately.

"Jitendra Awhad went with a good intention (to burn the Manusmriti). While tearing it (Manusmriti), he mistakenly tore the photo of Ambedkar. He did not know about the photo and he has even apologised. So, instead of criticising Awhad, one should look into the sentiments. Even though he is from the opposition, there is no point in criticising him for this," said Bhujbal on Thursday defending Awhad.


He also took on his own government for 'slyly introducing' a poem from Manusmruti into the curriculum.

The Manusmruti is a controversial text which advocated and endorsed the hierarchy in the caste system.

Bhujbal is an OBC leader and opposing the Manusmriti fits in with his profile. There have been other instances where Bhujbal's stand has caused a lot of ripples in the government.

In May, when a hoarding collapsed killed 17 people, the Shiv Sena and the BJP circulated a picture of the hoarding contractor with Uddhav Thackeray and linked the hoarding contractor to the Thackeray family. Bhujbal then defended the Thackeray family saying that it was incorrect to link the incident to the Thackerays as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation under whose jurisdiction the hoarding collapsed was now being controlled by the state government.