Mumbai. Facing criticism over the fall of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue nearly nine months after its unveiling in Sindhudurg district, Maharashtra’s Mahayuti government on Tuesday said the statue was built by the Navy even as the opposition hit out at the ruling coalition in the state and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Amid fears of the falling statue of Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district turning into a major controversy ahead of the assembly elections, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the state government has now decided to install a bigger statue of the 17th century Maratha warrior king at the same spot. Maharashtra minister Deepak Kesarkar, who hails from Sindhudurg, proposed to install a 100-foot-high statue of Shivaji Maharaj at the same spot. The statue, which was installed in the Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of this coastal district, about 480 km from Mumbai, was 35 feet high, which fell on Monday.
Following the outrage, the Sindhudurg police registered a case against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil involved in the project over the statue collapse incident. Fadnavis said an investigation is already underway. The Navy said it has taken note with “deep concern” of the damage to the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj unveiled as a programme dedicated to the citizens of Sindhudurg on Navy Day.
According to a statement issued by the Navy spokesperson in New Delhi, “Along with the state government and the concerned experts, the Navy has deployed a team to immediately investigate the cause of this unfortunate accident and take steps to repair and reinstall the statue at the earliest.” The 35-foot-high statue of the Maratha ruler was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Navy Day on December 4 last year at Rajkot Fort, which fell on Monday afternoon amid strong winds.
This incident, which happened a few months before the Maharashtra assembly elections, has put the state government in an awkward position and it is facing criticism from opposition parties. Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut alleged a scam in the construction of the statue. He also claimed that even Aurangzeb and the Mughals had not insulted Shivaji Maharaj in this way.
The Rajya Sabha member said, “For hurting the sentiments of the people of Maharashtra, we demand the resignation of the Chief Minister. The department should be taken back from Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Ravindra Chavan. He did not spare even Shivaji Maharaj and indulged in corruption.” He said that the contract for making the statue was given to people close to the Chief Minister. Raut called it a serious matter.
Referring to Chief Minister Shinde’s statement that the statue fell due to winds blowing at a speed of 45 kmph, Raut said that winds blow very fast in coastal areas. Raut said that the statue of social reformer Lokmanya Tilak was installed at Girgaon Chowpatty in Mumbai in 1933, but it is still standing. He said that in 1956, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru installed the statue of Shivaji Maharaj at Pratapgarh Fort in Satara district and it is still in the same condition.
Jayant Patil, president of the Maharashtra unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Chandra Pawar), termed the incident a serious issue and said that the government did not take necessary precautions while installing the statue. Patil said, “The government is responsible for this. The government organized a program only for the purpose of unveiling it by the Prime Minister.” Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and Congress MLA Vijay Wadettiwar demanded strict action against the contractor.
Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis tried to defend the government on the issue. Fadnavis said, “The construction of the statue was supervised by the Navy and not the state government. The persons responsible for the construction and installation of the statue may have ignored local important factors such as high wind speed and the quality of iron used. The statue may be more prone to rusting due to exposure to sea winds.” Senior BJP leader Fadnavis questioned that now the question is whether the makers of the statue understood all these factors before installing it.
A letter written by the Maharashtra PWD department has surfaced in which officials had mentioned “rust” on the statue and its “bad look”. Permanent measures were suggested in the letter sent to a Navy official six days before the statue fell in Sindhudurg district. A copy of the PWD letter, which is with PTI, reveals that an assistant engineer of the department had written to a Navy official about rust in some parts of the statue and its “bad look”.
The letter was sent on August 20 by an assistant engineer attached to the PWD office in Malvan tehsil, addressed to Regional Coastal Security Officer and Regional Civil-Military Liaison Officer Commander Abhishek Karbhari. The PWD engineer said in the letter, “You have installed a statue of Shivaji Maharaj in Rajkot Fort. The artist of the statue, Jaideep Apte, had done some repair work in June. Due to sea winds and rain, the nuts and bolts used in the statue have rusted. The entire statue now looks bad.” The PWD engineer wrote that tourists, local residents and public representatives who visit the fort throughout the year express disappointment over the condition of the statue.
Fadnavis said, “Our resolve is to build a big statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the same place.” When asked about the opposition targeting the state government over the incident, Fadnavis said, “The fall of the statue is sad, but the opposition parties’ stance on it is unpleasant. There is no need to politicise the issue as it will be considered superficial.” Chief Minister Shinde on Monday claimed that the incident was caused by winds blowing at a speed of 45 kmph. Minister Kesarkar said that something good could come out of this incident and suggested that politics should be avoided on this issue.
In a related development, angry Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Vaibhav Naik vandalised the PWD office in Malvan on Monday evening. The police on Tuesday filed an FIR against Naik and his supporters for vandalising the PWD office.