The Maha Vikas Agadi is protesting in Maharashtra condemning the Mayahuti government for the collapse of the Maratha king Chhatrapathi Shivaji’s statue at Malvan Fort recently. The opposition has launched ‘Jode maro’ (hit with footwear) protests, accusing the state government of corruption in the construction of the Shivaji statue.
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar faction and Congress are conducting protests condemning the Eknath Shinde-led government in the state for the collapse. The state government has deployed heavy security in Mumbai in view of the protests. Top leaders of the opposition will take part in the protest rally from Hutatma Chowk in the Fort area to Gateway of India.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led ruling front has also announced a counter protest. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis questioned the opposition’s protest and said it was politically motivated. Fadnavis also charged the MVA never respected Shivaji.
“This agitation is completely political. Be it Maha Vikas Aghadi or the Congress party, they never respected Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Nehru ji insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in The Discovery of India. Will Congress and MVA apologise for it?” Fadnavis asked. Fadnavis charged then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath demolished the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji with bulldozer, ANI reported.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was in Maharashtra on Friday, apologised for the collapse of the statue. “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a king. For us, he is our deity. I bow my head at his feet and apologise to my deity,” Modi had said. The prime minister had unveiled the statue constructed by the Indian Navy at Malvan Fort during Navy Day celebrations last year.