Sangli protests directed at Sanjay Raut, not at Shiv Sena or Uddhav Thackeray, says Sambhaji Bhide

Pune: Controversial octogenarian radical Hindutva leader Sambhaji Bhide affectionately called ‘Bhide Guruji’ on Friday urged the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to remove Sena spokesperson and MP Sanjay Raut from his post over his controversial remarks aimed at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and ex-Satara MP, Udayanraje Bhosale, who is also a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji. Bhide Guruji later clarified that the Sangli bandh was not directed against the Shiv Sena or the Chief Minister.

Sangli city observed a complete bandh as members of Bhide’s outfit the ‘Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan’, along with BJP activists and supporters of Bhosale staged vociferous demonstrations against Raut and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and State Housing Minister Jitendra Awhad.

It may be recalled that at a recent public event in Pune, Raut had demanded ‘proof’ from Bhosale as to whether he indeed was a descendant of the 17th century Maratha ruler or not. His remarks sparked off a fresh controversy with Bhosale’s supporters as well as pro-Maratha outfits lambasting the Sena leader.

Bhide Guruji remarked “we cannot bear this insult to Udayanraje, who is a representative of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s dynasty… Our shutdown is not against any political party or the Shiv Sena, but against Sanjay Raut. In fact, it is my ardent wish that the Sena, built on the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, expands its base and establishes its presence throughout the country”. He demanded that Chief Minister Thackeray immediately remove Raut from his parliamentary post for defaming Udayanraje Bhosale.

“I strongly urge Uddhav Thackeray to remove such persons (Raut) from their posts. His comments are poisoning the political clime,” he said. Bhide further hit out at the booklet Aaj ke Shivaji: Narendra Modi penned by BJP leader Jai Bhagwan Goyal, arguing that there was no need for Goyal to compare the Prime Minister with Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The octogenarian radical Hindutva leader urged his followers not to indulge in any form of violence or stone-pelting and peacefully observe the shutdown. “Udayanraje is the soul of Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan. We cannot tolerate such insults on him… While political slanging matches may be fine, Sanjay Raut’s remarks are in bad taste…We are planning to register our grievance with Thackeray in the coming days,” said an activist from Bhide’s outfit.

The outfit’s members have warned that if Raut did not publicly withdrew his comments and apologized for the same, the agitation would intensify across Maharashtra. The bandh cast a shadow on Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s visit to Sangli later in the evening despite activists of Bhide’s outfit stressing that the shutdown was not aimed at disrupting Thackeray’s tour.

Meanwhile, Baramati NCP MP Supriya Sule criticized the Sangli shutdown, dubbing it a “political conspiracy”. “It is wrong to call for a shutdown on the eve of the Chief Minister’s visit… It appears to be a political conspiracy against the government,” said Sule.

Bhide ‘Guruji’ affinity with Udayanraje Bhosale, who is the 13th direct descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, is well known. The latter had stoutly defended the Hindutva leader when Bhide was alleged to have orchestrated the violence that erupted between two social groups on the bicentenary anniversary celebration of the 1818 battle of Koregaon Bhima on January 1, 2018.