CM Uddhav Can’t Be Blamed For Controversy: Shiv Sena Over Shirdi Row
It may be noted that the saint breathed his last at Shirdi
Mumbai: Following the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray comment over the birthplace of Sai Baba, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday said the blame should not be “unheard of for controversy” over his party chief.
The Shiv Sena said in an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana that no one can tell with certainty whether the 19th-century saint was actually born in Shirdi.
Thackeray did not describe Pathri in Parbhani district of the state as the birthplace of Sai Baba “on his own”. CM based his statement on the editions imposed by some historians.
Earlier Thackeray said during a cabinet meeting that his government would develop the stone – believed to be the birthplace of Sai Baba – as a religious tourism destination. The CM also approved an initial grant of Rs 100 crore to develop the stones.
The statement triggered a massive rush with locals in the temple town of Shirdi on Sunday. However, the dispute ended after Thackeray met some Shirdi residents. Earlier, a shutdown was called at Shirdi on Sunday midnight.
Shiv Sena wrote in the editorial, “The Chief Minister did not raise any controversy. Even the stone and Shirdikars should not make it. This will reduce the lustre of the saints.”
It said that the dispute ended after the CM approved his government’s stand on the matter. The editorial further states that Sai Baba “appeared” for the first time at Shirdi in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra, in fact, there was no one where he was born.
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“Baba came to Shirdi, whether he came from Pathri, Parbhani’s official gazette mentions that ‘according to some, this (stone) may be the birthplace of Sai Baba, the saint of Shirdi.”
The party said, “The chief minister has not written or published the gazette. Therefore he should not be blamed for the controversy.”
The Shiv Sena said that Shirdi became “prosperous” because of Sai Baba and the city’s prosperity could not be snatched away from anyone. It mentioned that Saibaba Institute has assets worth Rs 2,693 crore.
The Shiv Sena continued, “Why then a dispute arose over the birthplace of a fakir (an ascetic) who was a fakir and appeared in Shirdi as a fakir.”
It may be noted that the saint breathed his last at Shirdi.
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