Launching a scathing attack on the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday slammed the dispensation for planning foreign trips at the expense of taxpayer’s money.
Mr. Thackeray also raised questions about Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s wagh nakh (knuckle duster with metal nails resembling tiger claws) that was being brought to the State from London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. The former Minister sought to know where it’s on display, even as he enquired whether it would remain permanently here or if it was on loan or was it from the era of the legendary warrior king. Shivaji Maharaj is said to have used the wagh nakh to kill Afzal Khan, general of the Bijapur Sultanate, in 1659.
State Culture Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar and officials from his department are set to visit the United Kingdom on October 3 and sign an MoU with the Victoria and Albert Museum authorities to get the weapon on loan for three years. According to officials, the State government is planning to bring the weapon by November and display it in four museums, namely, the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya in Mumbai, the Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum in Satara, the Central Museum in Nagpur and Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Kolhapur.
