The Shiv Sena (UBT) on Monday mocked former Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari by asking him to write to the United Nations to declare June 20, the day Eknath Shinde's rebellion that brought down the Uddhav Thackeray government last year began, as 'World Traitor Day'. Koshyari was the governor when the rebellion, the split in the Shiv Sena and the fall of the state government took place and he has been at the centre of accusations from Maha Vikas Aghadi constituents of acting in a partisan manner to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party. Koshyari's role in the chain of events that led to the formation of the Shinde government with the support of the BJP was also criticised by the Supreme Court while hearing petitions on disqualification of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs. In a letter laced with sarcasm, Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Ambadas Danve asked Koshyari to write to the UN to declare June 20, when several MLAs including Shinde left for Surat in Gujarat and then to Guwahati in Assam, as 'World Traitor Day'. "Shinde's decision is said to have taken note by some 32-33 countries. If so many people across the globe are keen on it, it should be declared as World Traitor Day. I request you to pursue the matter with the United Nations through your Delhi-based lords (a reference to the BJP-led Centre)," Danve, a senior Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, said. He also accused Koshyari of not missing any opportunity to harass the Uddhav Thackeray government to ensure defections from the Shiv Sena. Koshyari, former BJP chief minister of Uttarakhand, was governor of Maharashtra from September 5, 2019 to February 17, 2023. He was succeeded by Ramesh Bais.
