Tension and FIR in Pune over Sapkal’s Tipu remarks, Fadnavis seeks apology

Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Ranjan Kumar Sharma said, “BJP workers were holding an agitation near Congress Bhavan in the afternoon. After the agitation was over, some BJP members went to the Congress Bhavan premises and started raising slogans. Congress workers also raised slogans from inside… and there was stone pelting from both sides. Three Congress workers, two BJP workers, two women constables and two journalists were injured. Both sides have registered FIRs against each other.”

Speaking in Buldhana on Saturday, Sapkal responded to a question amid a dispute over a portrait of Tipu Sultan at the Malegaon Municipal Corporation displayed by deputy mayor Shan e Hind Nihal Ahmed in her office, which was opposed by Shiv Sena corporators there and Hindu outfits. The portrait was subsequently removed.

Sapkal said in Marathi that Tipu had actually followed Shivaji’s ideals. “The kind of bravery that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj possessed and the concept of swarajya self rule that he introduced, much later, following in that very tradition and taking inspiration from his ideals, Tipu Sultan waged war against the British,” Sapkal had said.

“In that sense, Tipu Sultan also emerged as a warrior and a bhoomiputra of Bharat. He never embraced toxic ideologies. He evoked a symbol of valour,” Sapkal had said.

This statement led to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis criticising Sapkal, stating the comparison was “highly condemnable”.

“Maharashtra holds Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the highest esteem. He is our deity. Anybody who dares to insult him will get a befitting reply,” Fadnavis said in Nagpur.

“Maharashtra will not tolerate this. Congress chief Sapkal should apologise for comparing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with Tipu Sultan. The Congress should take cognisance of this matter, and its allies must clear their stand,” he added.

On Sunday, Sapkal accused the BJP of distorting his remarks to give them a communal colour. “I was asked how one should view demands that photographs of all great leaders be displayed in offices. I responded in that context. But my statement was twisted to manufacture a controversy,” he said.

Alleging a bid to engineer unrest, he said, “The attempt is to give my remarks a communal angle and engineer unrest. What happened in Pune today reflects that pattern.”

Reiterating his party’s stand, Sapkal said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is our deity, our pride, our identity. We do not need lessons from the BJP on Shivaji Maharaj.”

He also alleged inconsistency in the BJP’s stand on Tipu Sultan, claiming that BJP banners had earlier featured the Mysuru ruler’s photograph during municipal elections. “If that was acceptable, then why object now?” he asked. Condemning the violence in Pune, Sapkal demanded action against those responsible. “Those who instigated and carried out the attack must be booked without delay. The law must take its course,” he said.

BJP Pune city unit chief Dheeraj Ghate said, “After we registered an offence against Harshwardhan Sapkal, we obtained permission from the police to hold a protest. We held the agitation and as we were leaving, there was stone pelting from inside Congress Bhavan. We have submitted videos of the same to the police commissioner. We had gathered to show respect to Chhatrapati Shivaji… but don’t know what Congress workers had gathered for — in support of Tipu Sultan? Did Congress have permission?”

Congress leader Prashant Jagtap said, “In the statement by Maharashtra Congress chief, he used the word samkaksh, by which he implied Shivaji Maharaj’s battle strategies were later taken up by Tipu Sultan. CM Fadnavis politicised the issue and BJP held an agitation in Pune. BJP has been breaking the norm of not agitating in front of other party’s offices. Nagpur mayor also participated. Police allowed them to block an important road for two hours. Then they resorted to stone pelting.”

Calling for strict action, a statement from Pune Union of Working Journalists said, “During the protests by BJP and Congress in front of Congress Bhavan in Pune, reporters Chandrashekhar Bhange of Lokshahi News and Shagufta Sheikh of Lokmat Online were injured in stone-pelting… We condemn the violent agitation… Strict action should be taken against them…”