Khandagale further told The Quint that Bhide’s organisation has been polarising the youth for decades in the name of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji. “Bhide’s organisation mainly targets the youth aged between 16 and 22, and polarises the society in the name of religion. They distort the history of Shivaji Maharaj vis-a-vis Afzal Khan, Aurangzeb, and the Mughals in general, to radicalise the youth,” he said.
Popularly known as ‘Bhideji Guruji’, Sambhaji Bhide is hardly a stranger to controversies. In 2008, he led the protests against Ashutosh Gowariker’s film Jodhaa Akbar, and was booked for ransacking theatres and halting screenings of the movie.
Bhide is also believed to have played a key role in the 2009 unrest in Maharashtra’s Sangli where communal violence broke out after a Muslim youth allegedly threw stones at an idol of Lord Ganesha.
In 2019, amid countrywide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Bhide’s outfit conducted rallies across Maharashtra in support…