Commitment to Congress, award to Modi — Tilak Smarak trust & politics of freedom fighter’s family

This has sparked an inside battle inside the Congress, with the Tilak household and the social gathering’s Maharashtra normal secretary Rohit Tilak on one aspect, and the rank and file on the opposite.

Arvind Shinde, president of Congress’ Pune metropolis unit, in a video assertion Monday mentioned the social gathering together with different Opposition events in Maharashtra, such because the Nationalist Congress Social gathering (NCP, Sharad Pawar faction) and the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), will protest towards Modi Tuesday.

“Earlier than accepting the Lokmanya Tilak Nationwide Award, one ought to take into consideration whether or not they have adopted any of Tilak’s teachings,” he added. “I’m interesting to the individuals of Pune. If you happen to can sport a black flag on your home, try this, or tie a black balloon,” Shinde mentioned.

“When Manipur wants the prime minister, his coming to just accept an award in Pune doesn’t swimsuit a PM in any respect. So, Pune metropolis will not be going to welcome you,” he added.

Tilak Smarak Mandir Belief’s “unanimous” choice to present the distinguished award to Modi has raised hypothesis about Rohit Tilak, the great-grandson of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, presumably shifting to the BJP, a number of Pune-based Congress leaders advised ThePrint.

Talking to ThePrint concerning the rumours, Rohit Tilak, who’s vice-president of the Tilak Smarak Mandir Belief, mentioned Monday: “There is no such thing as a reality in all of this. And this award ceremony ought to particularly not be linked with this type of political hypothesis as a result of the programme is non-political in nature.”

“Up to now, we now have awarded individuals from completely different political backgrounds in addition to different eminent personalities,” he added.

Rohit Tilak additionally mentioned Modi was the “unanimous alternative” of the trustees this 12 months for his name for an ‘atmanirbhar (self-reliant)’ nation that was in keeping with Lokmanya Tilak’s ‘swadeshi’ philosophy, the federal government’s new Nationwide Schooling Coverage, its satisfaction in Indian cultural roots and so forth. “These had been all concepts that Lokmanya Tilak espoused,” he added.

The award ceremony will see political rivals sharing the stage.

PM Modi will share the dais with not simply Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, but in addition NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who has been invited as chief visitor.

It is going to be the primary time that Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar will probably be on the identical stage for the reason that latter rebelled earlier this month and joined the Shinde-Fadnavis authorities in Maharashtra with a clutch of NCP MLAs.

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Tilak household and its politics 

The descendants of Bal Gangadhar Tilak had been all aligned with the Congress philosophy till the BJP tapped Mukta Tilak, the great-granddaughter-in-law of Lokmanya Tilak, within the early 2000s, a Pune BJP chief who didn’t want to be named advised ThePrint.

Jayantrao Tilak, Lokmanya Tilak’s grandson, was earlier with the Hindu Mahasabha. However he joined the Congress within the Nineteen Fifties and was a Rajya Sabha MP for 12 years and the chairperson of the state legislative council for 16 years, in accordance with the web site of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth.

His son Deepak Tilak is the chancellor of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, and is president and trustee of the Tilak Smarak Mandir Belief. He’s additionally the chief trustee of the Kesari Maharatta Belief, which runs Kesari, a day by day newspaper based by Lokmanya Tilak in 1881.

Deepak Tilak’s son Rohit Tilak has unsuccessfully contested the Kasba Peth meeting ballot as a Congress candidate on two events, in 2009 and 2014. He misplaced each elections to the BJP’s Girish Bapat.

Rohit Tilak confronted a serious controversy in 2017 when he was booked in a rape case primarily based on the grievance of a 41-year-old girl, in accordance with media reviews.

The above-mentioned Pune BJP chief advised ThePrint: “Within the early 2000s, Gopinath Munde (late BJP stalwart) determined to faucet the Tilak household and inducted Mukta Tilak into the social gathering. She was given lots of scope and posts to construct a picture that the Tilak household was with the BJP. Till then, the household was perceived to be utterly aligned with the Congress.”

Mukta Tilak, who died in December final 12 months after an extended battle with most cancers, was a four-time BJP corporator together with her first stint beginning in 2002. The social gathering additionally made her mayor of the Pune Municipal Company in 2017 when the BJP got here to energy within the civic physique.

In 2019, when the social gathering picked Girish Bapat to contest the Lok Sabha polls, Mukta Tilak fought the Kasba Peth meeting election and received.

Mukta Tilak was married to Shailesh Tilak, nephew of Jayantrao Tilak.

A Pune-based Congress chief who didn’t want to be named mentioned: “Since final 12 months, there have been sturdy talks within the political corridors of Pune that Rohit Tilak is attempting to safe a political future for himself with the BJP, wanting on the Congress’ slide in Pune.”

He added that, in 2022, many inside the Congress had been taken abruptly when the Tilak Smarak Mandir Belief invited the BJP’s Chandrakant Patil, who was on the time heading the social gathering’s Maharashtra unit, as chief visitor for the award ceremony.

Patil was not even the Pune district’s guardian minister on the time and was given the put up solely in September that 12 months.

Leaders from each the Congress and the BJP mentioned that talks of Rohit Tilak wanting on the BJP as an avenue for himself obtained stronger after Mukta Tilak’s demise.

Nonetheless, Rohit Tilak has denied such rumours. Even throughout the marketing campaign for the Kasba Peth bypoll held earlier this 12 months in gentle of Mukta Tilak’s dying, he clarified that he was with the Congress.

Tilak Smarak Mandir Belief and its awards 

The selection for the Lokmanya Tilak Nationwide Award has by no means run into controversy, aside from final 12 months when the invitation to the BJP’s Patil was talked about as an overture by Rohit Tilak to the BJP.

The award was instituted in 1983 by Jayantrao Tilak to honour personalities who’ve carried out distinctive work for the nation.

The trustees of the Tilak Smarak Mandir Belief embrace Deepak Tilak and his relations — Rohit, Rohit’s spouse and his sister — in addition to Congress chief Sushil Kumar Shinde.

The belief has over time awarded personalities similar to former prime ministers Indira Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and former presidents similar to Shankar Dayal Sharma and Pranab Mukherjee, aside from industrialists, engineers and scientists.

During the last 5 years, the belief has awarded scientist Tessy Thomas, industrialist Cyrus Poonawalla, educator and scientist Sonam Wangchuk, businessman Baba Kalyani, and former Indian House Analysis Organisation chief Okay. Sivan.

Rohit Tilak advised ThePrint that “selections on whom to present the award usually are not taken on a whim and are the results of a number of months of discussions”, including that the award ceremony is a “non-political dais.”

Congress chief Anant Gadgil, nevertheless, mentioned the award goes towards the very foundation of the social gathering’s marketing campaign towards the Modi authorities.

“The Congress’ stand is that the Modi authorities has not carried out any work. However, by giving him an award, you might be praising his work and accepting that he has carried out good work. So, the social gathering’s karyakartas (employees) usually are not glad,” he advised ThePrint.

(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)

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