Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday made it clear that his party would oppose the removal of Dadoji Konddev’s statue from the Lal Mahal in Pune.
Pune mayor Mohanshingh Rajpal had on Wednesday said that the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) would remove the statue of Konddev, the Brahmin tutor and mentor of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Konddev’s statue in Lal Mahal is a part of the larger sculpture where Jijamata and Shivaji can be seen tilling the soil of Pune with a golden plough.
However, Maratha organisations have been raising the demand of removing Konddev’s statue, saying he has no relations with Shivaji.
“If you want to remove Konddev’s statue, then replace it with the statues of Sharad Pawar and Suresh Kalmadi,” Thackeray said while slamming the PMC for its decision. Calling the decision unfortunate, the leader taunted the corporation and asked them to worship people like Kalmadi “who have spoiled the country’s image by indulging in corruption”. Calling the move politically motivated, Thackeray made it clear that any attempts to remove Konddev’s statue would not be tolerated by ‘Shiv premis’ (Shivaji’s admirers).
Konddev’s reference as Shivaji’s tutor and mentor has been challenged by some historians. Even the state government has stopped giving awards in the name of Konddev and has removed his reference as Shivaji’s guru from school textbooks.
The controversy was raised after American author James Laine in his book Shivaji — A Hindu King in Islamic India had allegedly tried to establish unsubstantiated relations between Konddev and Shivaji.
Speaking about the remarks made by Karnataka chief minister VS Yediyurappa refusing to meet Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leaders from Maharashtra, Thackeray said that people who opposed us for our pro-Marathi stand, should now come forward and speak against him. “Those in the BJP who love Marathi should twist his (Yediyurappa) tail and teach him a lesson,” he said.
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