MUMBAI: Facing flak from the Opposition over the collapse of a 35-ft statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg, the BJP-led Mahayuti government on Tuesday blamed the Indian Navy for the incident.
The state government’s Public Works Department (PWD) said the statue was raised by the Indian Navy on December 4, 2023, and that its nuts & bolts were corroded in the salty weather. It needed an urgent repair, it said.
The massive statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi months ahead of the Lok Sabha election.
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis has backed the PWD claim. He said the contractor who was given the fabrication and installation of the statue missed important factors such as wind speed and quality of iron. “The Opposition should not do politics over the incident,” said the BJP leader.
On the other hand, the Indian Navy clarified that they did not build the statue.
“A private contractor did it. The Indian Navy only installed the statue,” it said.
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Satej Patil said the BJP-led Mahayuti government was trying to shrug off its responsibility and shifted the blame on the Navy.
“The Mahayuti is engaging in a political campaign to implicate the Indian Navy in the statue collapse. This shows disrespect to our Navy. The truth must come out to counter these allegations. We request the Indian Navy to clarify and expose the political machination at play,” Patil said.
Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray alleged the statue was hastily unveiled for the Lok Sabha elections.
“No precautions were taken and the quality was ignored. The people of Maharashtra will never tolerate any insult to Shivaji Maharaj,” Aditya Thackeray said.