Govt rubbed salt in wounds of Marathi manoos: Opp on Koshyari getting Padma Bhushan

Raut said, “Can the central government tell us what great work Koshyari did to warrant the honour? He was at the forefront of bringing down the opposition government and installing the BJP government in an illegal manner. If he is being honoured for murdering democracy and Constitution, then we bow our heads before such a government.”
Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said, “It is difficult to believe why Koshyari would be honoured. What has been done to merit the honour? It seems like he has been honoured for manufacturing a BJP government in Maharashtra.”

AAP spokesperson Mukund Kirdat said, “By honouring a controversial figure like Koshyari, the government has lowered the prestige of the civilian honour. We could have understood if he made a non-serious mistake, but he was repeatedly making serious statements which hurt the self-respect and pride of Maharashtrians. His statements could have caused violence and fortunately nothing of that sort happened. After making volatile comments, then retracting them, he was again indulging in the same game. Maharashtra has never seen such a governor in its history.”

Activist Manav Kamble said, “Since the BJP does not have any heroes, they make heroes out of those who have insulted the ‘bahujan samaj’. Honour for Koshyari is the latest example of their high-handed attitude.”

In July 2022, Koshyari first triggered a controversy when he said if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from Mumbai, no money will be left. He made the statement at an event Mumbai, leading to protests from the opposition.
Koshyari then retracted his statement.  “The statement I made at the Rajasthani community event had no intention of belittling the Marathi man. I only spoke about the contribution of Gujarati and Rajasthani associations in business. It is the Marathi people who built Maharashtra through their hard work,” he said.

Kamble said the most shocking of Koshyari’s statement was when he said “Who would ask about Shivaji Maharaj without Samarth Ramdas?”

“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is held in high esteem by all communities in Maharashtra. Despite this, Koshyari made such a statement which could have fuelled riots.”

Koshyari then backtraced. “He said his comments were based on ‘preliminary information’ and that he had since learned of ‘new conclusions’ regarding the history,” Kamble said.

Koshyari again made a controversial statement against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. At an event in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (then Aurangabad), Koshyari said, “Shivaji is an icon of olden days.”
He suggested that students look for “modern icons” instead of historical ones.

Raut said Koshyari went to the extent of even trying to belittle the marriage of national icons like Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule. “Imagine, Savitribai was married at 10, and her husband was 13. Imagine, what must the boy and girl be doing or thinking after marriage,” Koshyari had said.

Raut said, “How can the governor of a state make such ridiculous statements? And yet he was allowed to continue in Maharashtra as governor without even being sacked or reprimanded. And now the government has crossed all limits. They have insulted Maharashtrians like never before,” he said.

Kirdat said Koshyari worked as a party leader of the BJP and not as governor of Maharashtra. “He even administered an oath of office in the early morning hours to Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar which sent shock waves in Maharashtra and even in the country. It was done so blatantly.”

Kirdat said Koshyari had also sat on the list of 12 members to be appointed to the Legislative Council by the Cabinet for over a year. “He violated the Constitution and is now being honoured,” he said.