Maharashtra BJP MLA calls for celebration on date as per Hindu calendar

MNS party members gathered at Shivaji Park on the occasion of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj birth anniversary in Mumbai. Pic/Satej Shinde

BJP MLA Sudhir Mungantiwar on Monday asked the Maharashtra government to consider celebrating Shiv Jayanti as per "tithi" on a day Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray took part in Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's birth anniversary celebrations as per the Hindu calendar.

Speaking in the Lower House, Mungantiwar demanded that the government place a photograph of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the premises of the state legislature building so that legislators can pay their respect to the 17th-century warrior king as per the "tithi".

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar maintained that the government celebrates the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on February 19 (the official birth date). He said Thackeray took part in a Shiv Jayanti programme on Monday in his capacity as the Shiv Sena president.

"The government celebrates the birth anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on February 19 (official birth date). But members of all the parties can pay respect to the king by bowing before his statue in the legislature premises when his birth anniversary is celebrated as per the tithi," Pawar said.

Earlier in the day, Thackeray took part in an event as Shiv Sena celebrated the Shiv Jayanti as per the Hindu calendar.
"The chief minister, who is the head of the state, is celebrating the anniversary as per the tithi. I took information from government officials who said that 'tithi' is unacceptable to them. So, we are in a dilemma"This is not a good situation," Mungantiwar said.

He said there is no harm in paying respect to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by bowing before the latter's photograph every day.

"If the chief minister and legislators of the Shiv Sena, BJP and other parties are celebrating the birth anniversary as per the tithi, the government too should arrange for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's photograph for members to pay respect in the legislature premises," Mungantiwar demanded.

Responding to the BJP MLA, Pawar said that when Mungantiwar was finance minister in the previous BJP government, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's photograph was not kept in the premises (of the legislature) for paying tributes to the king as per the Hindu calendar.
"It is a universal truth that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is our deity. There is no second opinion about it," Pawar said.

He added, as per records, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was born on February 19 in 1630 and every year, the chief minister attends birth anniversary events at the Shivneri Fort on that day.

"The chief minister has taken part in a Shiv Jayanti programme today in his capacity as the Shiv Sena president," Pawar added.

The Sena heads the tripartite Maha Vikas Aghadi government in which NCP and Congress are the two other constituents.

He said members of any party can celebrate Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's birth anniversary as per the tithi if they want to. "They can go to the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji and pay their respects," he added.

Later, Thackeray and Pawar were seen paying floral tributes to a portrait of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the legislature building premises near the warrior king's statue to mark the birth anniversary.

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