India, March 26 -- A fresh controversy has erupted over the statue of Waghya - the dog known for its undying loyalty to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj - after Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati, president of the Raigad Development Corporation and former Member of Parliament (MP), proposed its removal from Raigad Fort. The move has elicited sharp criticism, especially from the Other Backward Classes (OBC) community.

On March 22, Sambhajiraje Chhatrapati wrote to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, urging that Waghya's statue be removed from Raigad Fort. He claimed that there is no credible historical evidence to support Waghya's existence or the widely-held belief that the dog immolated himself at Shivaji Maharaj's funeral pyre. Labelling th...