MUMBAI: Maharashtra government has dropped the mention of the death anniversaries of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, democrat reformist Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, social reformer Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and BR Ambedkar from the 2019 calendar.
The calendar is distributed to all departments and all government offices across the state. While there is a mention of events like World Aids Day (December 1) and the International Day of Disabled Persons (December 3) among others, the death anniversaries have been omitted.
The omission has drawn sharp reactions from the opposition. Congress Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, attacked the government for “the extremely serious lapses” and demanded to know who will be held responsible for these.
“This (BJP-Shiv Sena) government exploits the names of all these towering personalities only for political purposes but has forgotten them in the annual calendar,” he said.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde said that these glaring omissions “are an insult to the memories of the two great personalities Phule and Ambedkar” and demanded an apology from Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
“The CM must give an explanation on how the names and pictures of these stalwarts were dropped from the calendar, who is responsible for it and what action will be initiated against them,” he said.
There has been no official reaction from the government.
[source_without_link]IANS[/source_without_link]