Statue collapse: Simply apologising won't do, says Nana Patole

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has said that simply apologising for the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not suffice as the episode has "hurt the pride of Maharashtra".

He made the remarks on Friday, 30 August, 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.

The statue of the 17th century Maratha warrior king at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg district's Malvan tehsil, which fell on 26 August, was unveiled by the PM on 4 December 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. Be it the PM, chief minister Eknath Shinde or deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, they have hurt the pride of Maharashtra. They should step down from power or people of the state will oust them," he said.

The people of Maharashtra who worship Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not forget the insult to their deity, the Congress leader said, and alleged that the statue was hastily installed by the state government for unveiling by the PM.

The work was entrusted to an inexperienced individual and instructions given by the cultural department regarding the statue were ignored, resulting in substandard work and its collapse, he alleged.

Responding to Shinde and Fadnavis's appeal that the opposition should not politicise the statue issue, Patole alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has consistently insulted Shivaji Maharaj and used his name just to get votes.

"Despite the disgrace that Maharashtra faced due to corruption in the construction of the Shivaji Maharaj's statue, the extremely corrupt BJP alliance government felt no remorse," Patole said.