Congress and NCP (SP) leaders on Monday strongly criticised the decision to confer the Padma Bhushan on former Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, calling it an insult to the state and its people.
Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said Koshyari’s tenure from September 2019 to February 2023 was marked by repeated controversies and actions that, he claimed, demeaned a constitutional office and hurt public sentiment. Speaking after attending the Republic Day function at the Congress office, Sapkal said he had even declined an award from a social organisation in Pune as it was to be presented by Koshyari.
Mumbai Congress chief and Lok Sabha MP Varsha Gaikwad alleged that the BJP had a history of insulting Maharashtra’s revered leaders and constitutional icons. She said Koshyari had earlier made remarks perceived as disrespectful to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule, adding that honouring him with a Padma award was “an insult to Maharashtra”.
Echoing the criticism, NCP (SP) spokesperson Clyde Crasto said Koshyari had repeatedly made controversial statements that hurt the sentiments of Maharashtrians. Awarding him the Padma Bhushan reflected the BJP’s “arrogance of power” and disregard for Maharashtra’s history and cultural pride, he alleged.
Koshyari had earlier faced criticism for describing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as “an icon of the olden times”. His tenure also saw frequent run-ins with the Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Uddhav Thackeray, who had accused the former governor of being overactive and of not filling 12 vacant seats in the state Legislative Council despite recommendations from the elected government.
