Shivaji Maharaj's anniversary celebration held at Agra Fort, Eknath Shinde calls it historic

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has called the celebration of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's birth anniversary at the Agra Red Fort historic. This comment comes amidst a bitter battle between the two factions of the Shiv Sena to lay claim over the Hindutva legacy.

On the occasion of the 393rd birth anniversary of Shivaji Maharaj, a ceremony (Chhatrapati Shivaji Jayanti) was held at the Agra Fort, in which Shinde and the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath were in attendance.

A large group of devotees had left from Aurangabad to Agra to join the first-ever celebrations at the Agra Fort at the 'Diwan-E-Aam' with the participation of the RR Patil Foundation, Ajinkya Devanagari Foundation, and the Maharashtra Government.

Shivaji Maharaj was kept under house arrest by Aurangzeb at the Agra Fort.

Shinde also said, “I have come to this program not as Chief Minister but as a supporter of Shivaji Maharaj. During the period of tyranny of Mughal, Adilshahi, Nizamshahi, Shivaraya established Hindu Swarajya and ushered in the welfare state.”

Others in attendance were Minister of Cultural Affairs Sudhir Mungantiwar, Minister of Marathi Language Deepak Kesarkar, Minister of Employment Guarantee and Horticulture Sandipan Bhumre, Minister of Law and Justice of Uttar Pradesh Upadhyay, Union Minister of State for Railways Raosaheb Danve, Union Minister of State for Law SP Singh Baghel, Union Minister of State for Panchayat Raj Kapil Patil, MLA Prashant Bamb, former Speaker Haribhau Bagade, and MLA Sanjay Shirsat among others.