NANDED: Congress leader and former chief minister Ashok Chavan on Tuesday said a new governor should be appointed for Maharashtra and Bhagat Singh Koshyari should be removed from his office for his remark on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Chavan was speaking to reporters after an agitation staged by Congress workers against the governor in Nanded. During an event in Aurangabad, Koshyari said that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was an icon of the "olden days."
The comment has triggered a political storm in Maharashtra, with activists of the NCP, Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), and other organisations staging protests for his ouster.
"The statement made by the governor has intensified people's anger. This is not limited to one single political party, it is a question of national pride," the Congress leader said.
He further claimed that this was not the first time that the governor made such a controversial statement, and said it was inappropriate for a person holding a constitutional post to make such remarks.
Koshyari must be shifted out of Maharashtra and a new governor should be appointed for the state, Chavan said, adding that any disrespect to Maharashtra will not be tolerated.
Meanwhile, the Congress' Aurangabad city and district units staged an agitation at Kranti Chowk in the city demanding that the governor be called back by the President of India.
"Koshyari should be called back by the President (Droupadi Murmu). The governor has no idea whom to compare Chhatrapati Shivaji with," district Congress president and former MLA Kalyan Kale said.