Amid protests, Dhirendra Shastri apologies for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj remark, says his ‘sentiments’ misinterpreted

NAGPUR: Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, head of Bageshwar Dham, on Sunday tendered a public apology for his remark on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which had sparked protests across the state, claiming that his "sentiments" were misinterpreted.He told reporters at the venue of a religious discourse programme in Nagpur that his comments on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Samartha Ramdas Swami in the presence of CM Devendra Fadnavis and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat last week were made in reverence. "I presented my sentiments with a lot of respect for the great Hindu king, the one who envisioned a Hindu Rashtra. I spoke about it in my style, but it was misunderstood," said Shastri. Many historians and politicians rubbished Shastri's claim that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj approached Ramdas Swami to handle his kingdom's administration. Shastri stressed he can never dream of insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. "It is from him that I took the inspiration for the vision of a Hindu Rashtra. He is the greatest king that our country had," he said.Moments later, Shastri moved to the stage, which had a large cutout of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the background, to start his religious discourse. Earlier in the day, Congress's Vijay Wadettiwar called Shastri a "fraud" masquerading as a godman. There were also protests by Sena (UBT) and Sambhaji Brigade slamming Shastri.