New Delhi: Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah stating that he would neve insulting icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This letter comes after the flak that Koshyari has been facing from the Opposition for his comment that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is an ‘icon of olden times’, which triggered demands for his removal from office.
The letter read: “I cannot even imagine in my dreams to insult icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maharana Pratap and Shri Guru Govind Singh. You are aware that I do not hesitate to express regrets or apologise immediately even if I unintentionally made a mistake”, news agency PTI reported.
Koshyari took a subtle dig at former CM Uddhav Thackeray without naming him. He said: “When some big personalities were staying at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, I, irrespective of my age, walked up to the high altitude forts in Maharashtra on my feet. I did not use a helicopter or any vehicle to reach the top.”
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The Governor while defending his stance said that some parts of his speech were deliberately chosen and taken out of context: “Some people took a portion of my entire speech at a university, out of the context for criticism. With a reference to the past icons, I was presenting the current eminent personalities who could be the inspiration for the youth.”
The remarks that landed him in trouble were spoken at an event in Aurangabad city after conferring D.Litt degrees on senior BJP leader Nitin Gadkari and NCP chief Sharad Pawar in November. He has said, “Earlier when you would be asked who is your icon, the answers would be Jawaharlal Nehru, Subhas Chandra Bose and Mahatma Gandhi. In Maharashtra, you need not look elsewhere (as) there are so many icons here. While Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is of olden times, there are Ambedkar and Nitin Gadkari”.
(With inputs from PTI)