Shiv Sena, BJP continue to differ on date of Shivaji Jayanti

Sena’s plea to consider March 8 as the official date was not accepted by the state government. Insiders said the BJP-led government did not want any row over the date and hence decided to mark the Maratha warrior king’s birth anniversary on February 19, which had been endorsed by the Congress-NCP regime. Accordingly, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with some of his cabinet colleagues, visited Shivneri Fort at Junnar in Pune district Thursday. Junnar, around 100 km from Mumbai, is the birthplace of the warrior king.

[related-post]

Addressing the ceremonial function, Fadnavis said: “I feel blessed after visiting the birthplace of warrior king Shivaji. The warrior king has always remained a great inspiration.” He announced that the government was committed to restoring the forts and heritage structures of Maharashtra.

Talking to The Indian Express, a senior Shiv Sena minister said: “We don’t agree with February 19 as the birthday of Shivaji. But since successive governments in the past had decided February 19 as the date of birth of Shivaji, we did not want to reopen the controversy. However, we have decided to go ahead with our programmes on March 8. To avoid any embarrassment to the government, we allowed some of the Sena ministers to take part in the function held at Junnar keeping in mind the government protocol.”

Senior Shiv Sena minister Subash Desai said: “My party’s view to celebrate Shivaji Jayanti as per Hindu calendar was conveyed to the chief minister and Education Minister Vinod Tawde. I asked them to cancel today’s government function and instead celebrate the day on March 8. However, they said it would be difficult to reschedule the event.”

He added that the government could still have a re-look at the matter after consulting experts and historians who have studied life and times of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

BJP ministers refused to comment on the controversy. “As per government records, Shivaji birthday is celebrated every year on February 19. So, we stuck to this date,” said a minister. Opposition parties Congress and NCP too held functions across the state on Thursday to mark the day.

The state has endlessly debated the actual date of birth of Shivaji. In 2000, the then Congress-NCP government constituted an expert committee to study the matter and fix a date that would be observed every year as Shivaji Jayanti. As per the committee’s report, which had the consensus of several Shivaji mandals across the state, February 19 was fixed as the official date. However, Shiv Sena had refused to accept it. In the last 15 years, Sena has never participated in the government functions. Instead, it organised grand celebrations in March-April, as per Hindu calendar.

All Shiv Sena shakhas in the state have started preparations for this year’s functions on March 8.