PANAJI
On the defensive after the State Tourism department’s “invasion” blooper tweet on Maratha king Shivaji’s military action against Goa then under the Portuguese, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, a Maratha by caste himself, took to Twitter to shower praises on the warrior king.
“I bow in reverence to the Great Warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Ji on his Punyatithi today,” Sawant said in a tweet on Saturday which incidentally is the death anniversary of the King.
Earlier on Friday, Goa Tourism’s official twitter handle had posted: “The Aguada jail is part of the beautiful Fort Aguada which was built in the year 1612. This fort which once defended the Portuguese stronghold against Dutch and Maratha invaders is divided into two main parts -- The upper and the lower fort.”
The department later deleted the tweet and also apologised for the error, but netizens and the political opposition, latched at the opportunity to accuse the Sawant-led government of slandering Shivaji and his army.
Goa is less than a year away from general elections and it is not unusual for politicians to thread cautiously when commenting or making reference to icons in history like Shivaji who is revered by a significant section of the Goan populace particularly in Goa’s eastern hinterland.
