Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, popularly known as Bageshwar Baba, ignited a political storm in Maharashtra with his remarks at a foundation stone-laying ceremony in Nagpur, where he claimed that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was tired of fighting and wished to relinquish his crown. This statement was met with immediate backlash from political leaders, including Harshavardhan Sapkal, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) chief, who called for Baba's expulsion from Maharashtra, labeling him as a hypocrite nurtured by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Sapkal criticized the presence of prominent figures such as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat during Baba's speech, suggesting their silence indicated a disrespectful attitude toward Shivaji Maharaj's legacy. MLA Rohit Pawar from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also expressed outrage, stating that Baba's previous comments about revered saints added to the offense. The controversy follows an earlier incident involving Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad, who allegedly threatened a book publisher over a title related to Shivaji Maharaj, further intensifying the political tensions surrounding the issue.