Maharashtra BJP MLA Babanrao Lonikar on Monday said a "hundred generations" of those who insult Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will be ruined.
The strong reaction came against the backdrop of a BJP MLC's statement that Chhatrapati Shivaji was born in Konkan and the surfacing of an old video of Union minister and BJP MP Raosaheb Danve talking about the 17th Century king. Last month, Maharashtra governor B S Koshyari kicked up a row dubbing Chhatrapati Shivaji an "icon of olden times".
"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is a role model for the entire world. Politicians of all parties should follow the example of Shivaji Maharaj in their life. He is the king not only for Maharashtra but also for India and the rest of the world. "Those people who insulted Shivaji Maharaj....his hundred generations would be ruined. It is shameful that political leaders used such words about the great king," the former Maharashtra minister said.
After the video surfaced, Danve clarified it was a two-year-old clip for which he had already apologised. In the video, Danve purportedly referred to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj without a due honorific. Recently, BJP MLC Prasad Lad stoked a controversy by saying the Maratha king was born in Konkan. He later apologised. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born at Shivneri fort in Pune district in 1630.
(With PTI inputs)
