Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said that he would not hesitate to apologise for the collapse of a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg district a 100 times. He said that he would the Hindu warrior king's feet a 100 times and apologise for the statue collapse.
He also said that there are other issues for the opposition to do politics on but Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj should be kept out of it. His remarks came after Deputy CM Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) staged silent protests across the state 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 in Sindhudurg). I will not shy away from apologising. Our government functions keeping his (Shivaji's) ideals in mind," Shinde was quoted as saying by newswire PTI.
On August 26, the 35-ft statue of the Maratha empire founder collapsed nearly 9 months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The project was handled by the Indian Navy, as per the Chief Minister's Office.
The Navy said in a statement that the statue was conceptualised and installed in coordination with the state government which also provided funding for it. The Navy assured that it is committed to assisting in all measures to repair, restore and reinstate the statue at the earliest.
On Thursday, Ajit Pawar promised strict action in the collapse of the statue. "No matter what, wrong is wrong and cannot be forgiven. Stringent action will be taken in this case to set an example that such mistakes won't be pardoned," he said.
Opposition party workers gathered at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk in Latur to demonstrate against the state government. NCP (SP) Latur district president Sanjay Shete, who led the demonstration, accused the government of completing the statue work within just 8 months in a desperate attempt to garner votes before the Lok Sabha elections.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will take out a protest march on September 1 in Mumbai against the statue collapse.