Maharashtra: Ink thrown at Loksatta editor Girish Kuber for controversial remarks on Sambhaji Maharaj

On December 5, activists of Sambhaji Brigade threw ink at Girish Kuber, editor, Loksatta, on the Marathi literary meet venue at Nashik. The activists have been protesting towards allegedly controversial references about Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj in Kuber’s e-book. NCP chief Sharad Pawar and former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis condemned the incident.
Reportedly, Kuber had made some controversial remarks about Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj, son of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, in his e-book “Renaissance State: The Unwritten Story of the Making of Maharashtra”.
Kuber was taking part within the 94th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan on its concluding day and was scheduled to attend a symposium. When he was behind the stage, some unidentified males hurled ink on his face, shirt and hair. The Police personnel current on the spot acquired some splashes too.
Former CM Dadnavis stated something written towards Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj must be condemned, however on the identical time, an ink assault throughout the literary meet was mistaken. “If something is factually wrong, it should be countered with facts and evidence,” he stated.
NCP chief Pawar stated the assault on the author was an assault on the liberty of expression. “I condemn this incident which doesn’t suit the image of Maharashtra,” he stated. He additional added that he has learn Kuber’s e-book and stated there have been some controversial parts in it. “Though there is a controversy over some portions of this book, at the same time, Kuber has the right to express himself. Those who disagree with his views also have the right to oppose him, but such attack is not acceptable,” he added.
Girish Kuber has a controversial historical past
Girish Kuber has a considerable connection to controversies. In May 2020, social media customers had uncovered him for passing off a weblog submit by UK based mostly economist Andrew Lilico as his personal editorial. Though his piece was revealed in Marathi, the uncanny resemblance with Lilico’s submit was clear. The UK economist himself tweeted that Kuber didn’t search permission from him for utilizing his work.
In October 2020, he was censured by the Press Council of India for publishing a faux story in regards to the Statue of Unity. In the contentious editorial on November 3, 2018, in Loksatta by Editor-in-Chief Girish Kuber, he alleged that a number of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) had contributed ‘immensely’ for the development of the Statue of Unity. The foundation of his claims was supposedly a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report from August 2018. His claims have been rubbished by activist Sadanand Ghodgerikar.
In 2019, the PCI had slammed the media group Loksatta for spreading faux information after it had revealed a success job article written by journalist Karan Thapar, one of many oldest members of the Congress-backed Lutyens media, towards RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat by attributing faux quotes to him. Along with Karan Thapar, the editor of the Loksatta Girish Kuber wrote an editorial containing a faux quote of the RSS chief.
In 2020, former CM of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, not directly accused Loksatta of being partisan and overly deferential to the Maha Vikas Aghadi authorities. He stated that the paper, which prided itself on being anti-establishment for years, had forsaken its function of the impartial organisation after the Maha Vikas Aghadi authorities got here to energy in Maharashtra.