Thaindian News

Mumbai, June 2 (IANS) The central government Wednesday accorded permission to commemorate the 336th anniversary of the coronation of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji atop the lofty Raigad Fort Sunday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said here.
Earlier this week, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which manages the monumental fort in the heart of the Sahyadris, had declined permission for the function citing certain provisions of the Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010.

This had erupted into a political issue with the Shiv Sena and other parties expressing anger over denial of permission for the public function.

Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray Tuesday announced that his party would defy the ban and go ahead with the celebrations, posing a question mark over the law and order situation.

Attempting to defuse the situation, Chavan spoke to the Prime Minister’s Office Tuesday, following which the ASI granted permission to hold the commemoration ceremonies at Raigad Fort.

Chavan told mediapersons here that he had also written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the sensitive issue.

“In the past, the ASI used to grant the permission. However, since the act has been amended, the sanction for such functions comes from New Delhi,” Chavan explained.

Incidentally, the Shiv Sena and other parties have been regularly commemorating the anniversary every year with mega celebrations at the Raigad Fort.

The great Maratha warrior king Shivaji was formally anointed Chhatrapati June 5, 1674, at the Raigad Fort. He was conferred the title of ‘Kshatriya Kulavantas Sinhasanadheeshwar Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’ by Pandit Gaga Bhatt, a renowned Brahmin priest of the time from Varanasi.

However, barely a fortnight later on June 18 Chhatrapati Shivaji’s mother Jijabai passed away. Since this was considered an ill omen by many, a second coronation was carried out in September that year which was presided over by another priest, Nischal Puri.