Collapse of Shivaji statue: Under fire over the collapse of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said he would not hesitate to touch the feet of the warrior king 100 times and apologise for the incident if required.
Speaking to reporters here, Shinde said the opposition has other issues to do politics on but Shivaji Maharaj, a revered figure in Maharashtra, should stay out of the loop.
The statue collapse in Sindhudurg district four days ago continued to create controversy, prompting the state government to set up a technical committee to find out the reasons behind the accident, while members of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, staged silent protests across Maharashtra over the incident. “Chhatrapati Shivaji is a patron deity of Maharashtra. I am ready to touch his feet 100 times and apologise (for the statue collapse). I will not be ashamed to apologise. Our government is functioning with his (Shivaji’s) ideals in mind,” Shinde insisted.
His comments come a day after Ajit Pawar apologised to the people of the state over the collapse of the structure which was installed in Malvan tehsil of the coastal district, around 480 km from Mumbai. The 35-foot statue of the 17th-century founder of the Maratha empire installed on the premises of Rajkot Fort collapsed on August 26, nearly nine months after it was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, triggering a political storm in the state, which is due to hold elections in the coming months.
The state government has pointed out that the project was handled by the Indian Navy. The Navy on Thursday said it conceptualised and directed the project of installing the Shivaji statue in coordination with the state government which provided the funding for it. In a statement, the Navy said it remains committed to assist in all measures to repair, restore and reinstall the statue at the earliest. A statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office after Shinde held a late-night meeting on Wednesday with ministers, senior state officials and the Navy said the government has set up a technical committee to investigate the reasons behind the collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue.
The committee will comprise engineers, IIT experts and Navy officials. Shinde said two joint committees have been formed. One of them will ascertain the reasons for the accident while the other committee, comprising experts, sculptors with experience in constructing statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji, engineers and Navy officials, will take up the reconstruction. “Our aim is to reconstruct the statue,” the CM said. Shinde said the Navy has demanded that the area where the statue was installed be cordoned off for inspection and reconstruction work to begin.
The Navy has said the statue was inaugurated on December 4 as part of Navy Day celebrations, which were held for the first time in Sindhudurg district. The structure was aimed at honouring the legacy of the Maratha Navy and Chhatrapati Shivaji in maritime defence and security, and their historical link with the modern Indian Navy. In a related development, activists from the Sambhaji Brigade, a Maratha group, started a protest outside the house of Jaideep Apte, the sculptor who built the statue, in the neighbouring city of Thane.
The protesters accused Apte of disrespecting Shivaji Maharaj and their demonstration included painting the gate of his house black, pasting a sticker with the word “Shivdrohi” and breaking eggs. The NCP, a member of Mahayuti’s government, organised protests across the state demanding speedy reconstruction of the statue. Speaking in Nanded during Ajit Pawar’s ‘Jan Sanman Yatra’, NCP Maharashtra 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 a democracy, everyone has the right to protest. The incident at Malvan was unfortunate and painful. We are also protesting against it and demanding strong action against the culprits by submitting memoranda to the authorities,” Tatkare said.
In Pune, the NCP municipal unit staged a protest near a statue of Shivaji Maharaj in Shivajinagar. Speaking during the protest, NCP municipal 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. In Thane, NCP spokesperson Anand Paranjape said those involved in the project, from architects to government officials, should face strict action. “Though we (NCP) are in power, the incident has caused anger in us and hence this protest,” Paranjape said. In the central Maharashtra city of Latur, NCP activists (Sharadchandra Pawar) staged a protest against the toppling of the statue.
Opposition party workers gathered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk in Latur and held a demonstration against the Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP government. The protest was led by Latur district NCP (SP) president Sanjay Shete. “This may be the first such case in the history of Maharashtra. In a desperate bid to garner votes before the (Lok Sabha) elections, the government completed the work of the statue in just eight months. This hasty action has backfired on the Mahayuti alliance,” Shete opined. Opposition leaders have announced that on September 1, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will take out a protest march in Mumbai against the toppling of the statue.
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