'No Use of Bowing Before Shivaji Maharaj': Rahul Gandhi in Hot Water Again

Mumbai: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stirred another controversy by making insulting remarks over 'Shivaji Maharaj,' saying that 'there is no need to bow before him.'

The comments by the Congress leader were made during an event in Maharashtra 's Kolhapur, where he was invited to unveil a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha empire

Addressing the public meeting, Rahul said, "There is no use of bowing before bowing before Shivaji Maharaj after scaring people, destroying the Constitution and institutions in the country."

The comments by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha were made targeting the Prime Minister over the collapse of a 35-foot Shivaji statue at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg district in August this year. Following the incident, the PM apologised saying, "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a king. For us, he is our deity. Today, I bow my head at his feet and apologise to my deity."

However, Gandhi said Chhatrapati Shivaji's message to the world was that the country belongs to everyone.

"…The statue gave them a message that if you want to make a statue of Shivaji Maharaj, then you have to protect the ideology of Shivaji Maharaj. That is why the statue fell down because their ideology is wrong... They did not allow the tribal President to attend the inauguration of Ram Mandir and Parliament... This is not a political fight, this is a fight of ideology..." he said.

(Inputs from PTI)