Former Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday launched a scathing attack on governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari over his comment at a Mumbai event where he had said that the city’s financial capital status was majorly due to contribution from Gujaratis and Marwaris. Thackeray alleged that Koshyari has insulted Marathi people and that his statement was intentional.
“Koshyari has crossed the limit. He should respect the chair he is occupying,” the Shiv Sena chief said, adding that it is to “send him back.”
“In fact, it should be decided if he should be sent back or to prison,” he further stated, demanding an apology from Koshyari.
On Friday, Koshyari, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh veteran and BJP’s first state president of BJP in Uttarakhand, was speaking at an inauguration event of a chowk in Andheri renamed after the late Shantidevi Champalalji Kothari.
Koshiyari said, “I keep telling people sometimes that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from Maharashtra — especially from Mumbai and Thane, then you will have no money left.”
The opposition parties, including Congress and Nationalist Congress Party, have objected to his remarks, calling it an insult to other communities especially Maharashtrians. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole condemned the governor’s remark and called for his immediate removal.
“We condemn the remarks made by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. He should apologise to the public. He should be removed from his position with immediate effect,” news agency quoted Patole as saying.
Former Maharashtra minister and Sena MLA Aditya Thackeray also joined the opposition leaders in demanding governor’s apology for “his anti-Maharashtra and anti-Marathi stance.”
“Governor’s statement is not only an insult to every citizen of Maharashtra, but also a disrespect to the contributions and sacrifices of many great people born in this soil,” he said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has distanced itself from Koshyari’s remarks.
“We do not agree with what governor said,”says party leader Ashish Shelar.
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde also broke his silence over the ongoing controversy, saying the government doesn’t agree with governor’s remarks.
“It could be his personal opinion. We expect that the person sitting in such a position should not insult any community,” Shinde added.
Koshyari’s office issued a clarification saying Marathi people’s contribution is the most in bringing up Maharashtra and he had “no intention of underestimating Marathi people”.
“I spoke only on the contribution made by Gujaratis & Rajasthanis. Marathi people built Maharashtra by working hard, this is why many Marathi entrepreneurs are famous today”, news agency quoted Maharashtra Governor’s Office as saying.