Past Life Politics: BJP MP's Claim on PM Modi and Shivaji Maharaj Sparks Debate

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu):  Politics has heated up completely over Aurangzeb's tomb. Meanwhile, during the ongoing budget session in Parliament, BJP MP from Bargarh, Odisha, Pradeep Purohit has said that Prime Minister Modi was the founder of the Maratha Empire and the great warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his previous life. In his speech, Pradeep Purohit mentioned meeting a saint who allegedly told him that Narendra Modi had a previous birth as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. He said, "The area I come from has a Gandhamardan hill station. A Girija Baba saint lives there. One day while talking, he told us that today's Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Maharaj Chhatrapati Shivaji in his previous birth. That is why today he is working with the spirit of making India the most powerful nation in the world."

Purohit tried to present it as a spiritual and historical connection, but his claim immediately sparked controversy.

After this statement, people expressed their reactions on social media, especially on X platform. Many users called it an insult to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Opposition parties took this statement in their stride and targeted the BJP. Congress and other opposition leaders called it an attempt to politicise the legacy of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Mumbai Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad shared the video and wrote in Marathi, "A well-planned conspiracy is being hatched by the BJP leadership to repeatedly insult Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the revered deity of undivided India, and to tarnish the reputation of Shiva lovers in Maharashtra and around the world. These people have grossly insulted Shivaji Maharaj by placing the honorary cap of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on the head of Narendra Modi. And now listen to this disgusting statement of this BJP MP… We publicly condemn the BJP for repeatedly insulting Shivaji. BJP is Shiva-drohi. We will never tolerate the insult of Shivaji. Narendra Modi should immediately apologize to the country and this MP should be suspended."