Mumbai, May 30 (IANS): The Maharashtra Congress on Monday slammed the move to shift the statues of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar and the legendary Savitribai Phule during the 140th birth anniversary celebrations of Vinayak D. Savarkar at the Maharashtra Sadan in New Delhi on Sunday.

The Chairperson of Maharashtra State Commission for Women, Rupali Chakankar, also slammed the incident, especially since it came just three days before the 298th birth anniversary of Queen Ahilyabai Holkar on May 31, and demanded action against those responsible for it.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde - who was present at the event in the national capital along with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis - has ordered a probe, while state Congress President Nana Patole demanded an apology from the ruling duo for the 'faux pas'.

"The government has insulted these two great icons who are a source of inspiration to the entire society. This is infuriating, especially since it happened in front of the Chief Minister and the Deputy CM. They must apologise to the people of the state for this," Patole said.

He also accused the BJP of not having any regard for women, saying that "such things can happen only because of their anti-women mindset".

Patole said that the BJP feels it can do anything on the basis of numerical strength, but the incident at Maharashtra Sadan has resulted in condemnation and backlash among the masses, with debates on social media networks.

"The whole world remembers and respects people like Mahatma Gandhi, Lord Gautam Buddha and others, but the BJP forgets these icons as soon as they come to power. This is a highly condemnable incident," Patole said.