Statue collapse: NCP holds protest, says everyone has right to protest | Politics News

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which is part of the Maharashtra government, on Thursday staged silent protests across the state over the collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue and demanded action against those responsible, while the party’s state chief asserted that everyone has the right to agitate.

The 35-foot statue of the 17th-century founder of the Maratha empire installed at the Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg’s Malvan tehsil collapsed on August 26, nearly nine months after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The incident has become a major political controversy with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) party attacking the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government over it.

Accordingly, party workers staged protests across the state. Local leaders also submitted a memorandum of demands to the tehsildars and district revenue collectors seeking stern action against the artist and others responsible for the poor quality of the statue.

The NCP protest assumes significance given that the party is one of the three constituents of the Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and considering the potential political ramifications amid the massive outrage caused by the collapse of the statue.

Speaking at the Jansanman Yatra celebrations in Nanded, Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare said the toppling of Shivaji Maharaj’s statue was painful and added that his party decided to protest against the incident as everyone has the right to do so. “In democracy, everyone has the right to protest.

The Shivaji Maharaj statue incident at Malvan is unfortunate and painful. We are also protesting against it and demanding strong action against the culprits by submitting memoranda to the authorities.” Referring to the remarks allegedly made by BJP leader Narayan Rane during a clash between his supporters and Shiv Sena (UBT) workers during Aaditya Thackeay’s visit to Rajkot Fort on Wednesday, Tatkare said, “Rane’s statement is inappropriate.

“While the statue-toppling incident is painful, such language is not befitting of a responsible leader. It is not in tune with the culture of Maharashtra.” In Pune, the municipal unit of the NCP staged a protest near the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Shivajinagar area.

Speaking at the protest, NCP urban unit president Deepak Mankar urged the state government to reconstruct the statue at the earliest.

“For us, Chhatrpati Shivaji Maharaj is a matter of pride and a symbol of our identity,” he said. Mankar said action should be taken against those responsible for the toppling of the statue.

Party chief Ajit Pawar also condemned the incident and said the party unit in Pune will send a memorandum to the district collector in this regard. Pradeep Deshmukh, working president of the NCP unit in Pune, wanted to know how the contract for the statue was given to someone who had no experience in constructing huge statues. “Action should be taken against the responsible persons, including the officials,” he said.

Asked why the NCP was protesting despite being a member of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, Deshmukh said, “For the sake of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, we can sacrifice hundreds of such governments.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)