Mumbai: Maharashtra minister Shambhuraj Desai has said the 'wagh nakh' or tiger claw-shaped weapon used by Chhatrapati Shivaji will be brought to Satara on Friday and accorded a grand welcome.
The weapon, being brought from a London museum, will have a bullet proof cover and security has been beefed up, the excise minister told reporters on Tuesday. It will be kept at a museum in Satara for seven months, he said.
Desai, who is also the guardian minister of Satara, reviewed the security arrangements at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Sanghralay in the district on Tuesday. "The wagh nakh is being brought to Shahunagari (Satara) from a London muesum on July 19," he said. Desai said the wagh nakh being bought to Maharashtra is an inspiring moment and it will be welcomed in Satara in a grand ceremony.
Maharashtra Culture Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said in the legislative assembly last week that the wagh nakh being brought to the state from London was used by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. His comments came after a historian claimed the wagh nakh used by the Maratha empire founder to kill Bijapur Sultanate's general Afzal Khan in 1659 was in Satara itself.
Mungantiwar had also rejected the claim that the government spent several crore rupees to bring the weapon from Victoria and Albert Museum in London to Maharashtra, and said the travel expenses and signing of the agreement cost Rs 14.08 lakh. The museum in London initially agreed to give the weapon for one year, but the state government persuaded it to hand it over for display in the state for three years, he said.
Desai said, "After a lot of efforts, the wagh nakh is being brought to Maharashtra due to successful efforts of the government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde."
