Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday stirred up a hornets’ nest yet again — this time over his inappropriate comments against Maharashtrians, prompting the Opposition to demand his dismissal from the post and even arrest. The BJP-led ruling alliance distanced itself from his comments.
Less than twelve hours after he said Maharashtra would be left with nothing and Mumbai would cease to be the country’s commercial Capital if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis were removed from the State, the Shiv Sena-led Opposition tore the Governor apart for “insulting” the people of the State, while the embarrassed ruling alliance chose not to defend Koshyari for his comment.
Speaking at a function held in the city, the Governor had on Friday lauded the contributions of the Gujarati and Rajasthani communities for the State’s progress and development and undermined Maharashtrians’ ability. “If you remove Gujaratis and Rajasthanis from the State, especially Mumbai and Thane, then nothing will be left… Mumbai will lose its tag of the country’s commercial capital without them,” the Governor had said at the ceremony.
The Governor found himself in the dock, as the video-clip of his comments made at a ceremony went viral. The Governor’s belated clarification over his comments made at a function organised on Friday to inaugurate a junction held at Andheri in north Mumbai to rename after late Shantidevi Champalalji Kothari, that his comments had been “misconstrued” did not douse the political fire which raged through the day.
Leading the Opposition’s charge, Maharashtra’s former Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Governor for trying to “divide” a peaceful State on casteist, religion and regional lines and said time had come for the State to decide “to consider whether this parcel named Koshyari should be packed off from here or put behind bars”.
Uddhav said the Governor had “insulted” the people of the State and now deserves to be shown ‘Kolhapuri chappals (footwear)’. “He regularly keeps making such controversial statements and does not maintain the dignity of the august office he occupies…Now he is trying to divide communities and even the Hindus by naming Mumbai and Thane where civic polls will be held shortly. It is time to consider whether this parcel named Koshyari should be packed off from here or put behind bars.”
Coming down heavily on the Governor for casting aspersions on Maharashtrians, NCP president Sharad Pawar said, “What can I say about this Governor. He had in the past made a horrible statement against social reformers Mahatma Phule and Savithribai Phule. He has repeated his act again. Mumbai and Maharashtra take sections of people along. Mumbai has progressed because of the contributions of the ordinary people. This kind of statement does not augur well for a Governor.”
Demanding Koshyari’s removal from the Governor’s post, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole said Koshyari had “insulted” Mumbai and Maharashtra by making an unwarranted statement about the city.
“He should not forget the immeasurable contributions made by Marathi people in building Mumbai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah should take serious cognisance of the Governor’s comment and remove him from the post,” Patole said.
“In the past, Koshyari had also insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Savitribai Phule, who are the idols of Maharashtra. Governor Koshyari’s stand has always been anti-Maharashtra,” Patole said.
Hitting out at Koshyari, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said “Koshyari’s hoshyari” (Koshyari’s oversmartness) was unwarranted.
He asked the Governor not to keep blabbering if he doesn’t know the state’s history as his comments have pained the people here.
“The Marathi people and others have given their lands and labour, and ensured a conducive environment that attracts people from all over to do business here. Do they get these anywhere else? Ahead of the elections, don’t try to spoil the atmosphere or corner the Marathis, that’s my request,” Raj said.
Senior BJP leader and current Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadbnavis - who is known for his close proximity to the Governor, said his party did not support the Governor’s views.
“The Marathis are known world over for their achievements in all sectors and fields. Their contributions to the progress of Mumbai and Maharashtra is significant, and even the Governor is aware of this in his heart… We are not with him,” Fadnavis said.
Dubbing the Governor’s comments as “personal views”, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said he did not support Koshyari’s comments and said “the contributions of the Marathis to the State and Mumbai can never be denigrated”.
“Mumbai has progressed and got fame as the financial Capital because of the hard work of Marathis. The Governor must ensure that the Maharashtrian’s pride and image are not hurt by his utterances,” Shinde said.
Meanwhile, Governor Koshyari clarified that his words had been “misconstrued as usual” and he reaffirmed the contributions of Marathis to Mumbai which is the pride of Maharashtra and also the country’s commercial capital.
“I had no intention to undermine Marathis… they have built Maharashtra by sheer hard work and there are many leading Marathi industrialists here, and are famous not only in the state but all over India and the world. Praising one community does not amount to insulting others,” the Governor said in a statement issued here on Saturday.
Koshari reiterated that he was proud of the opportunity to serve the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Maharashtrians as the Governor and he had even learnt Marathi in a very short time.
The only leader who came to the defence of the Governor was Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar, who said Koshyari had actually taken a swipe at the character of the Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena and BJP for ruling for many years without doing anything to give Marathis any business, which is still controlled by the Gujaratis-Rajasthanis.
“The people of Maharashtra must open their eyes and think whether to continue supporting these parties… The Governor has spoken out his mind and it’s not an insult to the state,” Ambedkar said.