Opposition parties reacted harshly to the central government’s decision to grant Padma Bhushan to former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. The opposition has tried to find out from the government what Koshyari did to deserve civil honor “as he had poured salt into the wounds of Marathi Manoos.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut said, “Honor is nothing less than the murder of democracy and the Constitution. From national icons like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to Mahatma Phule, he has insulted them all. Honoring him in this way is tantamount to rubbing salt in the wound and pride of the Marathi Manoos.”
Raut said: “Can the central government tell us what a great job Koshyari did to deserve this honour? He was at the forefront of bringing down the opposition government and installation to the BJP government illegally. If he is honored for murdering democracy and the Constitution, then we bow our heads before such a government.”
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said, “It is difficult to believe why Koshyari would be honoured. What has he done to deserve the honour? It seems he has been honored for fabricating a BJP government in Maharashtra.”
AAP spokesperson Mukund Kirdat said: “By honoring a controversial figure like Koshyari, the government has lowered the prestige of civil honour. We could have understood if it made a non-serious mistake, but it repeatedly made serious statements that hurt the self-respect and pride of Maharashtrians. Its statements could have caused violence and fortunately nothing of that kind happened. After making volatile comments and then retracting it, it fell into the same game again. “Maharashtra never has seen a governor like that in its history.
Activist Manav Kamble said, “Since the BJP has no heroes, it makes heroes of those who have insulted the ‘bahujan samaj’. The honor for Koshyari is the latest example of its high-handed attitude.”
In July 2022, Koshyari first sparked a controversy when he said that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are driven out of Mumbai, there will be no money left. He made the statement at an event in Mumbai, sparking protests from the opposition.
Koshyari later retracted his statement. “The statement I made at the Rajasthani community event was not intended to belittle the Marathi man. I only spoke about the contribution of the Gujarati and Rajasthani associations in business. It is the Marathi people who built Maharashtra through their hard work,” he said.
Kamble said the most shocking thing about Koshyari’s statement was when he said, “Who would ask about Shivaji Maharaj without Samarth Ramdas?”
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“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is held in high esteem by all communities in Maharashtra. Despite this, Koshyari made a statement that could have led to riots.”
Koshyari then backed away. “He said his comments were based on ‘preliminary information’ and that he had since learned ‘new conclusions’ about the story,” Kamble said.
Koshyari again made a controversial statement against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. At an event at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (then Aurangabad), Koshyari said, “Shivaji is an icon of the old days.”
He suggested that students look for “modern icons” rather than historical ones.
Raut said Koshyari went to the extent of even trying to belittle the marriage of national icons like Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule. “Imagine, Savitribai got married at the age of 10 and her husband was 13. Imagine, what must the boy and girl be doing or thinking after marriage?”, Koshyari had said.
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Raut said, “How can the governor of a state make such ridiculous statements? And yet he was allowed to continue in Maharashtra as governor without even being sacked or reprimanded. And now the government has crossed all borders. They have insulted Maharashtrians like never before,” he said.
Kirdat said Koshyari worked as a BJP party leader and not as governor of Maharashtra. “He even administered oath in the wee hours of the morning to Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, which sent shockwaves across Maharashtra and even the country. It was done so brazenly.”
Kirdat said Koshyari had also been on the list of 12 members the Cabinet would appoint to the Legislative Council for more than a year. “He violated the Constitution and now he is being honored,” he said.