BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale joins Opposition protest march against Bhagat Singh Koshyari

BJP MP Udayanraje Bhosale, a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji, participated on Tuesday in a protest march held during a bandh in Pune, called by Maharashtra’s opposition parties against governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s comments on the Maratha warrior king.

Several establishments in Pune remained shut on Tuesday following the bandh call given by the Shiv Sena (Uddhav faction), Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.

Bhosale, a Rajya Sabha member, has been in the forefront of those demanding that the Centre remove Koshyari. Later, speaking to journalists, Bhosale reiterated his demand to remove the governor and also said the BJP should act against party spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi, whose statement on Shivaji too had ignited a controversy.


“Everyone should understand that even after 350 years of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj not being with us, the love for him still remains the same; people from other communities also participated in the protest march. I think it is unfortunate that today we have to say publicly that one needs to speak with respect when it comes to Shivaji who spent and sacrificed his entire life for the people,” he said.

Trivedi, while speaking on a television debate, allegedly tried to equate Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Savarkar’s letter to the British crown by claiming that Shivaji had written a letter of apology to Mughal ruler Aurangzeb.

Bhosale said he had already clarified his stand and that he expected BJP to take action against Trivedi the same way it had acted against Nupur Sharma, a BJP spokesperson who was suspended from the party over her remarks about the Prophet Muhammad. “This is not just the demand of Pune, but that of entire Maharashtra,” he said. The bandh is one of a series of agitations being carried out by MVA as well as Maratha outfits.