- Saturday, April 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
BHAGAT Singh Koshyari, the governor of the western Indian state of Maharashtra, on Friday (29) kicked up a storm by saying if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis were removed from the state, especially the city of Mumbai and Thane, no money would be left in the state and Mumbai would cease to remain the financial capital of India.
Speaking at an event to name an area in Andheri in Mumbai, the 80-year-old Koshyari, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh veteran and a former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief minister of the northern state of Uttarakhand, said, “I keep telling people sometimes that if Gujaratis and Rajasthanis are removed from Maharashtra, especially Mumbai and Thane, no money would be left here. Mumbai, which is known as the financial capital of India, would not be able to remain the same.”
ऐका आणि थंड बसा!! pic.twitter.com/1BtebJmnDU
— Prashant Kadam (@_prashantkadam) July 29, 2022
The words soon faced a backlash, particularly from local outfits such as the Shiv Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) that are deeply connected with Maharashtrian identity politics.
Shiv Sena parliamentarian Sanjay Raut on Saturday (30) lashed out at Koshyari and urged chief minister Eknath Shinde, who is also a leader of the Sena but formed the government with his faction with the help of the BJP, to condemn the governor’s statement.
“The Marathi man gets insulted as soon as a BJP-sponsored chief minister is in power. CM Shinde, at least condemn the Governor. This is an insult to Marathi hard-working people,” Raut tweeted.
महाराष्ट्रात भाजपा पुरस्कृत मुख्यमंत्री होताच मराठी माणूस आणि शिवरायांचा अपमान सुरू झाला..स्वाभिमान अभिमान यावर बाहेर पडलेला गट हे ऐकूनही गप्प बसणार असेल तर शिवसेनेचे नाव घेऊ नका..मुख्यमंत्री शिंदे..राज्यपालांचा साधा निषेध तरी करा.मराठी कष्टकरी जनतेचा हा अपमान आहे..
ऐका .. ऐका… pic.twitter.com/dOvC2B0CFu— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) July 30, 2022
He also said that the governor, who belongs to the erstwhile United Provinces (current day Uttar Pradesh), implied that the people of Maharashtra are beggars.
थोडक्यात काय तर महाराष्ट्र व मराठी माणूस भिकारडा
आहे…
105 मराठी हुतात्म्यांचा असा अपमान मोरारजी देसाई यांनी देखील केला नव्हता..
मुख्यमंत्री शिंदे …ऐकताय ना.
की तुमचा महाराष्ट्र वेगळा आहे..
स्वाभिमानाचा अंश उरला असेल तर आधी राज्यपालांचा राजीनामा मागा..
दिल्ली पुढे किती झुकताय? pic.twitter.com/qhjQ3nGEwf— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) July 30, 2022
“Chief Minister Shinde, are you listening? That your Maharashtra is different. If you have self-respect, then seek the resignation of the governor,” Raut said in another tweet.
Former state minister Aditya Thackeray, also from Sena, tweeted in Maharashtrian saying, “In Maharashtra, there is currently no growth in social, educational, industrial and development, but attempts are being made to create controversy. Governor’s statement is not only an insult to every citizen of Maharashtra, but also a disrespect to the contributions and sacrifices of many great people born in this soil.”
“As much as to condemn this statement… He should publicly apologize for his anti-Maharashtra and anti-Marathi stance.”
महाराष्ट्रात सध्या सामाजिक, शैक्षणिक, औद्योगिक आणि विकासात वाढ नाही तर वाद निर्माण करण्याचे प्रयत्न सुरू आहेत. राज्यपाल महोदयांचं वक्तव्य हे महाराष्ट्रातील प्रत्येक नागरिकाचा अपमान आहेच, त्याच सोबत ह्या मातीत जन्मलेल्या अनेक थोर व्यक्तींच्या योगदान आणि बलिदानाचा देखील अनादर आहे.
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 30, 2022
या वक्तव्याची निंदा करावी तितकी कमीच… महाराष्ट्र आणि मराठी विरोधी भूमिकेसाठी त्यांनी जाहीर माफी मागावी.
— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) July 30, 2022
Sena parliamentarian Priyanka Chaturvedi sought an immediate apology from the governor for his “insult” to the hard-working people of Maharashtra. “This is an insult to the hard work of the people of Maharashtra and Marathi Manoos who have toiled day in and day out to make the state the leading state of the country. The Governor should apologise immediately, failing which, we will demand him to replace him,” she wrote in a tweet.
“Are the CM and Deputy CM aka Maharashtra cabinet okay with this? Why are they silent? Oh wait, they have still not agreed with their cabinet ministers,” she added.
A reaction from MNS chief Raj Thackeray, who is known for his hard pro-Maharashtra politics, was expected and he did not disappoint.
He slammed the governor in a Marathi note that he shared with the caption ‘Do not fool a Marathi manus’.
“If you don’t know anything about Maharashtra’s history, then don’t talk about it,” he said.
“The post of the governor is a very respected designation so people will not say anything against this, but your statement has hurt the people of Maharashtra,” Thackeray added.
“Because of the Marathi people in the state, good job opportunities were created. So people from other states migrated here, right? Will they get such an environment anywhere else?” he said, adding, “With the elections around the corner, one should not spread any rumours. Do not assume that we are innocent to believe this. Do not fool ‘Marathi manus’ – this is all I have to say right now.”
"मराठी माणसाला डिवचू नका!" pic.twitter.com/0to6ByNyPk
— Raj Thackeray (@RajThackeray) July 30, 2022
State Congress leader Sachin Sawant also tweeted the video of Koshyari’s speech and said, “It is terrible that the Governor of a state defames the people of the same state,” he said.
“During his reign, the level of the institution of the Governor and the political tradition of Maharashtra has not only deteriorated, but Maharashtra has also been continuously disrespected,” he added.
Koshyari later issued a clarification, saying his intention was not to hurt the Marathi people’s sentiments.
He said his statement was about the contribution that people from Rajasthan and Gujarat make towards the state of Maharashtra.
“Marathi manoos [Marathis] worked hard to establish what Maharashtra is today. So there is no question of demeaning or underestimating them,” he said.
