Shah praises Shivaji Maharaj, visits Raigad NCP leader's home

Shivaji and his story should be taught to every child in the country, says Union home minister

- Faisal Malik

MUMBAI: Politics, ancient and modern, has been playing out in the erstwhile Maratha stronghold of Raigad district over the past two days.

Close on the heels of the controversy over Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Maharashtra, Union home minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah visited Raigad on Saturday, and praised the Maratha warrior-king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

Shivaji was the one who first advocated swarajya (self-rule) and his story should be taught to every child in the country, Shah said. The one who called himself Alamgir was defeated in Maharashtra and buried in the state, he added.

Shah was visiting Raigad Fort, the erstwhile capital of the Maratha empire, on Friday, to pay tribute to Shivaji in the wake of his 345th death anniversary.

"I want to request the people of Maharashtra not to keep Shivaji limited to Maharashtra because the world can take inspiration from him," Shah said, addressing a gathering at the fort. "We are committed to turning Raigad Fort from a tourist place to a place of inspiration," he added.

Shah's meetings

Politically, it was Shah's meetings elsewhere that were being watched keenly, in the context of the ongoing tussles between the BJP and Shiv Sena, and between the Sena and NCP, within the ruling Mahayuti alliance.

Ever since he lost a bitter power struggle when the new Mahayuti government took charge in December, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde has found himself increasingly sidelined. The cold war between him and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP continues.

Fadnavis has made a series of moves that have embarrassed Shinde, from halting several projects and schemes approved during Shinde's tenure as CM in the previous Mahayuti government to ordering investigations into decisions made by Shinde's administration.