No more dummy Shivajis,warns Raj

“People dress like Shivaji Maharaj on Shiv Jayanti and dress like dummies during processions… Why do they need to do such things? They should not jest about Shivaji Maharaj.”

Speaking on the occasion,Minister for Finance Sunil Tatkare said the coronation day of Chhatrapati Shivaji would henceforth be celebrated as a state festival,adding that it was not just Marathis who took pride in Maharashtra. He was making a point against the MNS stand of giving priority to sons of the soil instead of “outsiders” or “migrants”.

Cutting across political lines,politicians have thrived on the issue of protecting the pride and prestige of Chhatrapati Shivaji. During the recent Assembly session,Sena MLC Diwakar Raote had objected to participants in Mumbai Marathon dressing up like Shivaji and Afzal Khan and walking hand-in-hand. The Maratha king had killed the Adilshahi warrior,a poster of which had sparked riots in parts of the state last year.

The Sena and the MNS regularly talk about Chhatrapati Shivaji and protecting the pride,be it objecting to abbreviated usage of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus or creating an equestrian statue of the emperor. The Sena had picked up an issue raised by NCP MLC Ram Pandagle during the recent Assembly session. Pandagle had demanded that a case,under the Prevention of Atrocities Act,be registered against the publisher of CBSE history book (Class VII) for disrespecting Saint Chokhamela by mentioning his name as “untouchable Mahar” and mentioning Chhatrapati Shivaji only as “Shivaji.”