Amruta Fadnavis jumps into Shivaji row: All the times Devendra Fadnavis' wife hit headlines

Amruta Fadnavis has jumped to the defence of Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who called Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj an ‘old idol’.

“I know the governor personally. He learnt Marathi after coming to Maharashtra. He genuinely loves Marathis. I have experienced this myself. But it has happened many times that he has said something and it was given some other interpretation. But he is a Marathi Manoos at heart,” Amruta told reporters on Friday.

Koshyari, addressing a function at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University in Aurangabad,  on Saturday said, “If someone asks who your idol is, you don’t have to go out looking for one. You will find them right here in Maharashtra. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has become an old idol now, you can find new ones — from Babasaheb Ambedkar to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari.”

Koshyari’s statement sparked a massive furore and drew censure from Maratha organisations and Opposition leaders with Sharad Pawar saying Koshyari had ‘crossed all limits’ and demanding the intervention of the president and prime minister and Uddhav Thackeray saying the Centre should take Koshyari back.

This is hardly the first time Amruta, a banker and the wife of deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, has found herself courting controversy.

Let’s take a look at some previous instances:

‘Proud to be a Brahmin’

In November, attending a meeting of the Akhil Bhartiya Bahubhashiya Brahman Mahasangh, Amruta praised Brahmins as “intelligent beings” who did not need marketing, as per The Print.

She also referred to her husband Devendra as Maharashtra’s ‘chief minister’.

Though her comment made headlines and raised eyebrows, the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena dismissed her remarks as a ‘slip of the tongue’.

“These things happen. It could have been a slip of tongue. There is no reason to blow it out of proportion,” a Shinde faction leader told The Print.

“Amruta Fadnavis has a unique personality. She is not just a political leader’s wife, but has built her own identity with her talents, her social work and her distinct opinions. I am sure she did not mean what she said,” he added.

‘Wish to live like common citizen’

After the Indian Express earlier in November reported that the State Intelligence Department had allotted a ‘traffic clearance vehicle’ along with an upgrade from X to Y+ with escort to Amruta as part of her security detail, she requested the Mumbai Police to withdraw it.

The upgrade to Y+ with escort category comes with security of an escort vehicle and five policemen round the clock.

Such a vehicle performs duties similar to a pilot vehicle, clearing road traffic for the assignee during travel.

Amruta tweeted:

I’m & wish to live like common citizen of #Mumbai
I humbly request @MumbaiPolice not to provide me traffic clearance pilot vehicle
Traffic condition in Mumbai is frustrating but I’m sure,with Infra & development projects by @mieknathshinde & @Dev_Fadnavis we will soon get relief https://t.co/ym2wTodt6D

— AMRUTA FADNAVIS (@fadnavis_amruta) November 2, 2022

‘Traffic congestion causes divorce’

In February, Amruta claimed  traffic jams deny ‘family time’ to people and cause three per cent of divorces in Mumbai.

The remark drew ridicule from the Shiv Sena, which controls the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).

Amruta made the comment after attending a function organised by a local BJP unit on Friday. She was asked by reporters about the condition of roads in the city.

“….I am saying this as a common citizen because I see potholes and traffic jams daily. Do you know how many divorces are taking place because of it in Mumbai? Three per cent,” she said.

“People cannot find time for their families because of traffic issues,” she added.

Responding to the remark, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi tweeted, “Best (ill)logic of the day award goes to the lady who claims 3 per cent Mumbaikars are divorcing due to traffic on roads. Please take a holiday break rather than having a mind on brake.

“Bengaluru families please avoid reading this, can prove fatal for your marriages,” Chaturvedi added.

Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar said that “people associated with BJP are making comments like this.” “People are fed up with such comments,” she said.

Calls PM Modi ‘father of the country’

Amruta caused much outrage in 2019 when she called Prime Minister Narendra Modi the ‘father of the country’ when wishing him on his birthday.

Wishing the Father of our Country @narendramodi ji a very Happy Birthday - who inspires us to work relentlessly towards the betterment of the society ! #HappyBDayPMModiJi #HappyBdayPMModi #HappyBirthdayPM #happybirthdaynarendramodi pic.twitter.com/Ji2OMDmRSm

— AMRUTA FADNAVIS (@fadnavis_amruta) September 17, 2019

Her choice of words did not go down well with many on social media who pointed out that Mahatma Gandhi has been called the ‘father of the nation’ for decades.

Ignores safety warning to take selfie

In November 2018, Amruta created a kerfluffle after being spotted sitting on the edge of a cruise ship.

The video showed Amruta, attending the inauguration of domestic cruise liner Angriya in Mumbai, being asked by security personnel to move to a safe spot.

Amruta instead turned around and snapped a selfie.

The act, caught on camera, sent many on social media into a tizzy.

#WATCH: Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, being cautioned by security personnel onboard India's first domestic cruise Angria. She had crossed the safety range of the cruise ship. pic.twitter.com/YYc47gLkHd

— ANI (@ANI) October 21, 2018

Amruta later apologised though she continued to insist that the spot where she was sitting was safe.

“The spot where I clicked selfie was not dangerous because there were two more steps below,” she told a Marathi news channel.

“If anyone thinks I have made some mistake, then I apologise for it,” she said.

“I want to tell the youth that they should not take excessive risk to take a selfie,” she added.

River anthem

In March 2018, Amruta took flak for a video entitled Mumbai River Anthem which went viral on social media.

The video showed Amruta singing and swaying to the music, before being joined by her husband lip-syncing to the song sung by Sonu Nigam.

The video also featured the Mumbai civic commissioner, the police commissioner and state forest minister.

The city’s famed dabbawallas and fisherfolk community also make an appearance in the video.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) slammed the then chief minister and his wife, calling the clip “terrible and shocking”.

“This video is terrible and shocking. To further her singing career, Amruta has used the chief minister, senior civic and police officials, and also the chief minister’s official residence, Varsha, where part of the video was shot,” AAP spokesperson Preeti Sharma Menon said.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also slammed the video, saying that it exposed the government’s double standards on environmental causes.

The Congress, too, sharply criticised the video.

Speaking during a discussion on Governor’s address, the then Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (Congress) said, “I wonder whether these are ministers or band members. I saw one viral video clip on river conservation. I was happy to see our CM in it….Now change the name from Bharatiya Janata Party to Banjo Party.”

Fadnavis, responding to the comments, called the Opposition’s criticism “unfortunate” and uncalled for.

“I am surprised over the vilification campaign. A leading organisation had drafted a campaign for conservation of rivers in Mumbai. They approached me for issuing an appeal to the people. Since it was for a public cause, I agreed to it,” he said.

 ‘Magic chain’ from godman

In 2016, Amruta came under fire from rationalists for accepting a chain from a godman that he produced ‘out of thin air’.

The incident occurred at an awards ceremony by a Pune-based educational institution.

After visuals aired on Marathi channels showing the godman Guruvanand Swami handing over the chain to Amruta, a rationalist group demanded that the then chief minister clarify his stand.

As per The Times of India, Amruta later said she does not believe in miracles and that she offered salutations to him as ‘respect to an elderly person’.

“These are values I have been brought up with and these are the values I will continue to practice.”

With inputs from agencies

Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .