BJP MLC Gopichand Padalkar has demanded that Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde hand over Fort Wafgaon in Pune, birthplace of Rajarajeshwar Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar, to the Maharashtra Archaeology Department for preservation.
Holkar built an army of tribal and Bahujans, and defeated the British 22 times in Maharashtra. Fort Wafgaon is the only remaining fort built by Malhar Rao Holkar in Maharashtra. It is also the place of worship of the Dhangar community and all other backward classes.
In a letter written to the CM, Padalkar said “The mighty history of Bahujans has been permanently undermined during the last 70 years. We have repeatedly demanded that the government take over the fort of Vafgaon from the custody of the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha and hand it over to the Maharashtra Archaeology Department and preserve the history of the Holkar empire.”
Praising the Mahayuti government, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction, Padalkar said “several good decisions” have been taken by it but “the fort building is in the possession of the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, and the Dhangar brothers are afraid that the funding of Rs 10 crore from the local district administration for the development of the fort will be misused”.
He stressed that the fort should be maintained by an independent authority just like in case of the Raigad fort. “Fort Wafgaon Development Authority should be established and funds should be given for various activities. It is requested to make an announcement and take a decision on the coronation day of Maharaja Yashwantrao Holkar on January 6”.
Padalkar even demanded that the Dhangar community should develop the fort on their own. “We would restore our Holkar’s fort Wafgaon in a magnificent form through crowd funding,” he added.
Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar is the president of Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, and there is an open political rivalry between Padalkar and the Pawar family.
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