Bageshwar Dham head’s remarks on Shivaji Maharaj in front of Maharashtra CM triggers row; No historical evidence to support his comment, says Fadnavis

Pune: Head of Bageshwar Dham Dheerendra Shastri's statement about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at an event attended by Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur on Friday has drawn flak from opposition.State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal on Saturday said the chief minister should have objected to the statement made in his presence and initiated legal action against Shastri.Fadnavis told reporters in Nashik that Shastri's statement was not backed by historical evidence. He said, "We have folklores on historic personalities. Such folk tales are cited in different states as well. There are folklores about Ramayana and Mahabharata as well."During his speech at the Nagpur event, Shastri said Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj had once requested Samartha Ramdas Swami to take charge of the kingdom. After Shastri's statement surfaced on social media platforms, the opposition targeted BJP and RSS as he made the comment in presence of Fadnavis and Bhagwat.State Congress chief Sapkal said, "We protest Shastri's baseless statements. We equally criticise those who remained silent despite being present at the event. Their silence shows that BJP and RSS support the statement against Shivaji Maharaj."NCP (SP), the Congress's ally in MVA, also criticised Shastri's statement. NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar said in the past, Shastri had made a controversial statement against Sant Tukaram and Sant Dnyaneshwar. "After noticing such statements against Maharashtra's icons, it creates a doubt if there is any single point agenda of some people to reduce the importance of Maharashtra's personalities by insulting them," he said."What is more disappointing is that such an insulting statement was made in the presence of ministers from Maharashtra. Govt should ban such people from entering the state. However, we cannot expect such actions from the current dispensation," Rohit added.
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