Author and philanthropist Sudha Murthy met and took blessings from controversial right-wing leader and Shiv Pratishthan founder Sambhaji Rao Bhide during an event in Sangli, Maharashtra on Monday, November 7. Pictures show Sudha Murthy, the wife of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and mother-in-law of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak taking the blessings of the former Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader and interacting with him. In the Bhima Koregaon clashes that happened in 2018, Bhide was one of the men who was booked for instigating violence by sparking stone-pelting.
Maharashtra | Author & philanthropist Sudha Murthy met and took blessings from Shiv Pratishthan founder Sambhajirao Bhide during an event in Sangli yesterday pic.twitter.com/VYm34y1MNI
— ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2022
Bhide, on November 2, sparked a row after he refused to speak to a female television news reporter as she had not put a 'bindi' on her forehead. The incident, caught on camera, took place after he met Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at Mantralaya (state secretariat) in south Mumbai, and prompted the state women's commission to issue him a notice.
In a video, Bhide was heard telling the female reporter, who sought a sound byte from him about his meeting with Shinde, that she should apply a 'bindi' (a decorative dot worn in the middle of the forehead by women) before coming to take his byte, and declined to speak to her. He also told the journalist that a woman is akin to Bharat Mata and that she should not appear like a "widow" by not sporting a 'bindi.
Maharashtra State Women's Commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar issued a notice to the right-wing leader seeking an explanation for his remarks.
In 2018, Bhide had faced criticism for his comments that couples were blessed with sons after eating mangoes from his orchard. In 2008, he was at the forefront of protests against Ashutosh Gowariker's historical film Jodhaa Akbar, and was booked for ransacking theatres and stopping screenings of the movie. A year later, he had kicked up a row in Sangli in Maharashtra over the depiction of an "artist's impression of the assassination of Adil Shah's army commander Afzal Khan by Shivaji Maharaj.
Reacting to the meeting, AAP leader Preethi Sharma Menon said, “Trust she wore a bindi. When people like Sudha Murthy meet bigots like Bhide, they reveal their true colours.”
Another Twitter user said, “Once upon a time, she questioned the ‘only men’ policy of TELCO and stood against men's dominance. Now taking blessings from a man who refused to talk to a journalist cos she was not wearing a bindi. What a fall Mrs Sudha Murthy.”
Right-wingers on social media however praised Sudha Murthy’s gesture.
Bhide was a professor of physics at Pune's Fergusson College. Later, he joined the RSS as a pracharak and founded an organisation called Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan. Shiv Pratishthan Hindustan reportedly focuses on spreading the teachings and information on the life of Shivaji Maharaj and his son Sambhaji Maharaj. Bhide is said to have a sizable following in Sangli, Kolhapur and Satara, particularly among the youth.
With PTI inputs