If Mughal emperor Aurangzeb can be addressed as Samrat, why should Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj be referred to as Shivaji?
A section Kaun Banega Crorepati viewers on social media, along with BJP leader Nitesh Rane and Shri Rajput Karni Sena, raised protest over a KBC question where the Maratha warrior ruler was simply referred to as Shivaji. As #Boycott_KBC_SonyTv started trending on social media, Sony TV — which airs the show — came out to publicly admit mistake.
The controversy arose after show host Amitabh Bachchan asked this question on a recent episode: Which of these rulers was a contemporary of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb? A) Maharana Pratap B) Rana Sanga C) Maharaja Ranjit Singh D) Shivaji.
While asking this question, Bachchan mentioned Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as Shivaji. The answer option also read “Shivaji”.
Soon, many viewers started alleging that the channel authorities and Amitabh Bachchan have shown disrespect towards the great Maratha ruler and demanded an apology from Bachchan as well as the channel.
The issue continued to be a talking point on social media, and the hashtag #Boycott_KBC_SonyTv continued trending on Friday morning.
Finally, the channel authorities admitted their mistake.
On Thursday evening’s episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati, the channel authorities ran a ticker, which read: “There was an inaccurate reference to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj during yesterday’s episode, due to inadvertence. We deeply regret the same.” (IANS)
