Mumbai: Top leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi have joined the mega “Jode Maro” protest in Mumbai over the collapse of Chhattrapati Shivaji’s 35-foot statue at Malvan in Sindhudurg. Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Nana Patole were some of the leaders who are leading the protest.
Massive security has been deployed by the Eknath Shinde government for the protest march from Hutatma Chowk in the Fort area to Gateway of India. Tearing into the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra over the collapse of a 35-foot statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray today claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s apology on the statue collapse smacked of arrogance and added that the people of the state had rejected it.
Shivaji Statue Collapse
On Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of the warrior king’s statue in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district. Speaking at a public rally in Palghar, Modi said, “When in 2013 the BJP declared me as its PM candidate, the first thing that I did was to offer my prayers at the place where the mortal remains of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj are buried at Raigad. ”
The statue of the 17th century Maratha warrior king at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg district’s Malvan tehsil, which fell on August 26, was unveiled by the PM on December 4, 2023, on the occasion of Navy Day. During his address in Palghar on Friday, PM Modi said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a king. For us, he is our deity. Today, I bow my head at his feet and apologise to my deity.”
Talking to reporters in Bhandara, Patole said, “What made him (PM) apologise ? It means he has acknowledged that he had made a mistake. When the statue was ready, as a prime minister, he or his team should have checked whether the statue was alright, whether the foundation was strong and whether the certificate from the cultural director was sought or not.” “The issue cannot be addressed with just a simple apology.
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