Never insulted any national icon, says Ajit Pawar on Sambhaji controversy

Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday asserted that he has never insulted any national icon, and accused the BJP leaders of doing so and not apologising for it.

Senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Wednesday asserted that he has never insulted any national icon, and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders of doing so and not apologising for it.

Pawar said he supports the use of the epithet "Swarajya-rakshak" (protector of Swarajya -- the independent Maratha state) for Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of the founder of the Maratha empire Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, as it does justice to his accomplishments.

Pawar, the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly, said he holds Chhatrapati Sambhaji in high regard.

"I have never spoken against any national icon....The BJP has been orchestrating protests against me," he alleged. "The Maharashtra governor (Bhagat Singh Koshyari) has made remarks against national icons, so have many BJP MLAs and leaders. They have not even apologised for their remarks," he said.

Pawar said he had used the term "Swarajya-rakshak" even while presenting the state budget as Finance Minister in March last year. An announcement of Rs 250 crore was made in that budget for building two memorials (for Sambhaji Maharaj) at Vadhu Budruk and Tulapur in Pune district, he said.

Last week, BJP's Adhyatmik Aghadi office-bearer Tushar Bhosale had alleged that Pawar hurt the feelings of people by saying that Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj was not "Dharmaveer (protector of Hindu religion) but 'Swarajya-rakshak'.