Days after a book by a BJP leader drawing parallels between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji left the Bharatiya Janata Party red-faced, a YouTube video doing the rounds ahead of Delhi Assembly elections has put the BJP on the back-foot. Using scenes from the recently released film Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, the video shows PM Modi as Chhatrapati Shivaji and Home minister Amit Shah as Tanhaji Malusare.
The video has once again drawn criticism for the BJP which landed in thick soup over a book titled Aaj Ke Shivaji: Narendra Modi authored by BJP leader Jai Bhagwan Goyal. The book had to be eventually withdrawn.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut termed the video as an insult to the Maratha warrior king. “Shivaji Maharaj is our deity and we will not tolerate his insult,” he said. Raut also trained guns at Shivaji descendant and former BJP MP Udayanaraje Bhosale and right-wing leader Sambhaji Bhide. Raut said he was awaiting their reactions. “Where are these people who targeted the Shiv Sena?” he asked.
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BJP’s Kolhapur MP Sambhaji Raje, meanwhile, condemned the video saying it could not be tolerated and the BJP must explain its role. “The central government should investigate and take immediate actions against the culprits,” Raje, also a descendant of Shivaji, said and urged political parties to refrain from misusing Shivaji Maharaj’s image for “dirty politics”.
The BJP, however, has distanced itself from the controversy and denied any role in the video. “The BJP is not using the video for the Delhi Assembly polls. We condemn the video. It is wrong to target the BJP on it,” said Chandrakant Patil, state BJP president, adding that Shivaji could not be compared with anyone.
Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh said that he has received a complaint regarding the video wrongly showing pictures of Modi and Shah as Shivaji and Tanhaji and said he will raise it with YouTube.