Shivaji statue collapse: Simply apologising won't do, Maharashtra's pride hurt, says Patole

Simply apologising for the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not suffice as the episode has "hurt the pride of Maharashtra", senior Congress leader Nana Patole said on Friday while reacting to the statement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PM Modi on Friday apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of the warrior king's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district.

"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," Modi said during his address in Palghar. The statue of the 17th century Maratha warrior 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.

"What made him to apologise ? It means he has acknowledged 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," Patole told reporters. "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," Patole said in Bhandara.


The Chhatrapati Shivaji-worshipping people of Maharashtra will not forget the insult to their deity, adding "the statue was hastily installed for unveiling by Prime Minister Modi" by the state government. 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, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee chief said.

Responding to Shinde and Fadnavis's appeal that the opposition should not politicize the statue issue, Patole alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party has consistently insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and has only used his name for votes. "Despite the shame that Maharashtra faced due to corruption in the construction of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue, the extremely corrupt BJP alliance government felt no remorse," he alleged.