This is an archive article published on November 28, 2022
Royals livid over Koshyari, Trivedi remarks: Sambhajiraje warns of ‘uprising’, Udayanraje to announce ‘important decision’ today
While the Governor had reportedly called Shivaji a hero of the past era during a function, Trivedi, during a TV debate on V D Savarkar's apology, had said that the 17th-century king had also “apologised” during his regime.
UPSET with “inaction” against Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari despite their repeated demands, Chattrapati Udayanraje Bhosale and Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, descendants of Chhatrapati Shivaji, have upped the ante, seeking decisive action in the matter.
While Sambhajiraje expressed the possibility of an “uprising”, Udayanraje will hold a press conference in Pune on Monday in which he will announce an “important decision”, said his aides.
Last week, Udayanraje held a press conference in Pune and demanded the immediate ouster of the Governor as well as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi for “insulting” the Maratha warrior king. While the Governor had reportedly called Shivaji a hero of the past era during a function, Trivedi, during a TV debate on V D Savarkar’s apology, had said that the 17th-century king had also “apologised” during his regime.
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In a tweet on Sunday, Sambhajiraje warned of an “uprising” if no action is taken against the Governor. “Does it mean the government agrees with the remarks? No one should take the people of Maharashtra for granted. If the government does not understand the sentiments of Shiv Bhakats, an uprising will take place,” he said.
Last week, Sambhajiraje had asked as to what was preventing the government from taking action against the Governor. “The Governor has tried to belittle Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who is worshipped by millions, at least twice. It is unbelievable that…the government remained a mere spectator…now even BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi has made insulting remarks. If such things are allowed to continue, it will lead to a revolt from the people of Maharashtra,” he had said.
While Udayanraje is Rajya Sabha MP from the BJP, Sambhajiraje is a former RS Parliamentarian who was also a presidential nominee. Both the royals are known for their proximity to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Udayanraje’s close associates said he will make an important announcement on Monday. “We don’t know whether it relates to his resignation or not. It may be about resignation or it may not be so… We have no clue but we know for sure that he will announce an important decision,” said an aide on Sunday.
Both Udayanraje and Sambhajiraje are firm that the Governor should be sent packing from Maharashtra. “He should not serve as Governor anywhere,” Sambhajiraje told TV channels in Kolhapur on Saturday.
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Udayanraje said, “The Maharashtra Governor deserved to be sent to an old age home.”
Manoj More has been working with the Indian Express since 1992. For the first 16 years, he worked on the desk, edited stories, made pages, wrote special stories and handled The Indian Express edition. In 31 years of his career, he has regularly written stories on a range of topics, primarily on civic issues like state of roads, choked drains, garbage problems, inadequate transport facilities and the like. He has also written aggressively on local gondaism. He has primarily written civic stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad, Khadki, Maval and some parts of Pune. He has also covered stories from Kolhapur, Satara, Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar and Latur. He has had maximum impact stories from Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial city which he has covered extensively for the last three decades.
Manoj More has written over 20,000 stories. 10,000 of which are byline stories. Most of the stories pertain to civic issues and political ones. The biggest achievement of his career is getting a nearly two kilometre road done on Pune-Mumbai highway in Khadki in 2006. He wrote stories on the state of roads since 1997. In 10 years, nearly 200 two-wheeler riders had died in accidents due to the pathetic state of the road. The local cantonment board could not get the road redone as it lacked funds. The then PMC commissioner Pravin Pardeshi took the initiative, went out of his way and made the Khadki road by spending Rs 23 crore from JNNURM Funds. In the next 10 years after the road was made by the PMC, less than 10 citizens had died, effectively saving more than 100 lives.
Manoj More's campaign against tree cutting on Pune-Mumbai highway in 1999 and Pune-Nashik highway in 2004 saved 2000 trees.
During Covid, over 50 doctors were asked to pay Rs 30 lakh each for getting a job with PCMC. The PCMC administration alerted Manoj More who did a story on the subject, asking then corporators how much money they demanded....The story worked as doctors got the job without paying a single paisa.
Manoj More has also covered the "Latur drought" situation in 2015 when a "Latur water train" created quite a buzz in Maharashtra. He also covered the Malin tragedy where over 150 villagers had died.
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