Amid the ongoing political slugfest in Maharashtra, the opposition alliance, Maha Vikas Aghadi on Wednesday announced to hold a march on September 1 in Mumbai over the collapse of a 35-foot Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot Fort earlier this week. Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray slammed the Eknath Shinde-led government, accusing the Mahayuti government of rampant corruption in the construction of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue. The decision to take out the march was taken during a meeting of Maha Vikas Aghadi at Thackeray's Mumbai residence, Matoshree.
Addressing a press conference with NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole, Thackeray said the government's claim that the statue collapsed due to gusty winds is the "height of shamelessness".
'Atrocities on women crossing all limits'
Speaking about the protest march, Thackrey said, "The atrocities on women and corruption in the state are crossing all limits. The leaders of all three parties came together and discussed these issues. Two days ago people saw how the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj fell and what kind of statements people are making. Rajya Bhavan is on the seashore but even the Governor's hat never flew and they say that the statue of Shivaji Maharaj fell due to strong winds, how is this possible."
Earlier in the day, the party workers of Shiv Sena (UBT) and supporters of BJP leader Narayan Rane clashed when the two sides reached the site. The Sindhudurg police have registered a case against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil who were involved in the project. Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis sought to defend the government over the issue.
“The construction work of the statue was not overseen by the state government but by the Navy. The individuals responsible for the fabrication and installation of the statue might have overlooked important local factors such as high wind speed and the quality of the iron used,” said Fadnavis
He added that the state government has decided to install a bigger statue of the Maratha warrior king in the same place. The 35-foot statue of the Maratha empire founder was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg on December 4 last year.
(Inputs from PTI)
