India, April 12 -- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Member of Parliament (MP) Udayanraje Bhosale has sparked a fresh controversy with his statements at an event to celebrate the birth anniversary of social reformer Mahatma Jyotirao Phule. At Phule Wada in Pune, Udayanraje Bhosale said that women's education in India actually began under Satara ruler Pratapsinh Bhosale.

Udayanraje Bhosale, who is a descendant of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, claimed that Pratapsinh Bhosale started a school for women inside his palace in Satara and that Mahatma Phule followed Pratapsinh Bhosale's example and continued the work.

"Thorale (senior) Bhosale (Pratapsinh Bhosale) started a school for women inside his palace in Satara. From one perspective...