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Updated: Aug 30, 2020 18:02 IST

The controversy over Maratha warrior king Shivaji refuses to die down.

The latest row comes after a book written by a functionary of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comparing the 17-century king with Prime Minister Narendra Modi had created a controversy.

A video with morphed images of Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah for Delhi assembly poll campaign has now riled the Shiv Sena.

In a morphed “trailer” of Ajay Devgn-starrer Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior movie, website Political Kida has released a video of Prime Minister Modi as Shivaji and Amit Shah as military commander Tanhaji Malusare.

ALSO WATCH | ‘Aaj Ke Shivaji Narendra Modi’ row: BJP says it has nothing to do with the book

Delhi chief minister and AAP founder Arvind Kejriwal has been depicted as Udaybhan Singh Rathore in the 100-second video.

Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday reacted to the video, which has gone viral now.

“I saw it in the news that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and subedar Tanhaji [their photos] are being used for political purposes,” Raut said in Mumbai.

“Faces of political leaders are morphed on Chhatrapati Shivaji and Tanhaji and are being circulated for an election campaign. Shivaji Maharaj is our idol and we will not tolerate his insult,” he said.

Tanhaji had fought the historic battle for Sinhagad Fort in Pune under Shivaji on February 4, 1670, which was under the control of a Rajput commander, Udaybhan Singh Rathore, guided by Maharaja Jai Singh I, an ally of the Mughals.

In a veiled jibe at the BJP lawmaker and Shivaji’s descendant, Udayanraje Bhosale, Raut said he has forwarded the news articles and videos to the ones who called for a shutdown in Sangli and Satara. He said that he is waiting for their reaction.

Book comparison

The book ‘Aaj ke Shivaji: Narendra Modi’ written by Jai Bhagwan Goyal, a former Sena worker, was released in the BJP’s headquarters in New Delhi earlier this month.

It had stirred a political controversy as the Shiv Sena slammed the BJP over the book and the Congress and Nationalist Congress Party also questioned the comparison.

Sanjay Raut had in a series of tweets questioned the book and the BJP and then attempted to corner the leaders of the opposition party in Maharashtra and asked if the comparison is acceptable to them.

The Sena leader had asked Udayanraje Bhosale and Shivendraraje Bhosale, the descendants of Shivaji, who are in the BJP, to resign over the issue.

The Rajya Sabha MP had also asked Udayanraje Bhosale to prove he is a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji.

The book was withdrawn after the uproar.