Palghar (Maharashtra), Aug 30 (IANS): In a magnanimous gesture that took Maharashtra political circles by surprise and salvaged the ruling Mahayuti's image, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday tendered a public apology for the crash of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg.
The crash of the 28-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati mounted on a 10-foot high pedestal at the fort in Sindhudurg district, was first highlighted by IANS (Aug. 26), shortly after it fell, ostensibly due to bad weather conditions, sparking a massive public outrage and political furore that still rages in an election year.
The PM’s apology came at a function held in Palghar district for the ground-breaking ceremony for the greenfield, all-weather Vadhvan Port coming up here at a cost of around Rs 76,220 crore.
PM Modi was addressing an audience comprising farmers and fishers - barely hours after he rubbed shoulders with corporate bigwigs at the Global Fintech Fest-2024 in Mumbai.
Sounding remorseful at the collapse of the statue – which he had inaugurated around eight months ago - PM Modi said that the legendary Maratha warrior was not just a king but a revered deity for him and the people of the country.
“For what has happened in Malvan (Sindhudurg), I bow my head and apologise to the people of Maharashtra and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We don’t use great men for politicking,” said PM Modi.
The PM’s unexpected comments are being interpreted in political circles as a lifeline for the beleaguered Mahayuti government of Shiv Sena-BJP-NCP, which has cut a sorry figure after the statue tumbled down and disintegrated into multiple pieces, stunning the people of Maharashtra.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar, and other ministers/leaders have been at the receiving end of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners – Congress-NCP(SP)-Shiv Sena (UBT) – which has been carrying out shrill agitations across the state for the past five days.
In a piquant situation, even the Chhatrapati’s 13th direct descendant, Yuvraj Chhatrapati Sambhajiraje of Kolhapur trained guns at the Mahayuti, saying that the statue was erected in “haste” for its inauguration by PM Modi on December 4, 2023 during Navy Day celebrations.
There were more red faces in the Mahayuti as Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray – who supported PM Modi in the Lok Sabha 2024 elections - gave a piece of his mind on the episode, while his wife Sharmila incredulously asked “who constructs a hollow statue near the sea-shore”.
Alarmed at the potential political ramifications of the incident – coming days after the alleged rape of two nursery schoolgirls in Badlapur (Thane) – the Mahayuti attempted a massive damage control exercise even as the MVA bayed for the scalps of Shinde-Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar.
Hoping to somewhat blunt the Opposition’s charge - and serious charges of alleged corruption in the construction of the statue – Shinde, Ajit Pawar and Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar also tendered individual apologies for the debacle in the past couple of days, though the PM’s regrets could prove to be a balm for the state’s injured soul.
Unimpressed, the MVA carried out a massive agitation at Malvan (Aug. 28) where tempers ran high and it came in eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation with BJP’s ex-union minister Narayan Rane plus his supporters, but a major fracas was averted due to timely police intervention.
A series of protests continue around the state, and the MVA has planned another round of agitation from Mumbai on September 1, followed by demonstration in Maharashtra in the coming weeks and the run-up to the high-stakes Assembly polls. (Quaid Najmi can be contacted at: q.najmi@ians.in)