Mumbai/Latur: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday apologised to the people of the state for the collapse of a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue amid outrage and vowed to punish the guilty as the political temperature heated up over the crash ahead of assembly polls.
Shiv Sena (UBT) workers and BJP Lok Sabha MP Narayan Rane's supporters clashed at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg district where the statue of Shivaji Maharaj collapsed on August 26, while another deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis called the crash tragic and appealed to avoid politics over it.
Be it officials or contractors, action will be taken against those guilty, Ajit Pawar assured while addressing a gathering during his 'Jan Sanman Yatra' in Latur district in central Maharashtra. Shivaji Maharaj is our deity. I apologise to the 13 crore people of Maharashtra for the collapse of his statue, Ajit Pawar said.
The collapse of the 35-foot statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder within a year (of installation) is shocking, he added. An FIR has been registered against the contractor of the statue, which was unveiled nearly nine months ago by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The FIR follows a complaint by the state Public Works Department (PWD), which claims the statue's construction work was of poor quality.
Meanwhile, the statue crash site in Sindhudurg district's Malvan tehsil, around 480km from Mumbai, turned into a battleground for Shiv Sena (UBT) workers and Narayan Rane's supporters
A clash between them was triggered by the near-simultaneous arrival of Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and his family's arch political rival and Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg MP Rane at Rajkot Fort. A police constable, Sambhaji Patil, was injured in stone pelting at the statue crash site in the coastal Konkan region, an official said.
The statue collapse incident has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) targeting the Mahayuti government and seeking Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's resignation.
Thackeray, who on Tuesday described the incident as a grave insult to Shivaji Maharaj, a revered figure in Maharashtra, and sought accountability from the ruling alliance, on Wednesday reached the fort to take stock of the situation.
Separately, former Union minister Narayan Rane also reached the site with his elder son and former MP Nilesh Rane and their supporters. The Ranes were seen arguing with the police when Thackeray was inside the fort.
Soon, a clash broke out between the supporters of both sides who jostled and pushed each other. Police and security personnel struggled to bring the situation under control amid heightened tension. Police reinforcements were sent to the site to prevent any untoward incident.
Thackeray termed the ruckus as "unfortunate". "I have told my party workers not to indulge in politics at the fort of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj," the former state minister said. A defiant Narayan Rane, who wields considerable influence in Konkan, blamed the rival side for the scuffle.
Speaking to reporters in Sindhudurg, the former Union minister talked tough and asserted that if he had decided, "not a single person from the MVA who came for a protest (at the site) would have reached home".
"We did not start anything from our side. We were returning from the statue site when they (referring to Sena UBT workers) attacked us. We do not get involved in petty fights. If we had chosen to, nobody would have made it home. Don't you know our history?" Narayan Rane emphasised. He sought to punch holes in corruption charges levelled by opposition parties in the construction and installation of the statue.
"How can you raise corruption charges against the construction of the Shivaji statue without any proof? If the construction work was of poor quality, it can be found out. It is also our demand to probe the causes behind the statue's fall. The state government should not spare those who built and installed it," he said.
During an interaction with journalists in Nagpur, Deputy CM Fadnavis called for avoiding politics over the collapse episode. Fadnavis called for a thorough investigation and assured action against those responsible for the crash of the structure. "This is a deeply tragic event, and no one should exploit it for political gains, he said.
The BJP leader insisted a grand statue of the Maratha warrior king would be erected at the same spot. Fadnavis said the Navy has taken the investigation seriously and will act against those responsible.
The state government on Tuesday said that the structure was built by the Navy. Referring to the opposition attacks, Fadnavis urged them not to view the tragedy through the lens of assembly elections due in November.
On NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar's remark that corruption has peaked in the state, Fadnavis said the statue was a Navy initiative and not a state government project. The Sindhudurg police have registered a case against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil, both involved in the project.
Meanwhile, in Thane, leaders and workers of the NCP (SP), a constituent of the MVA, staged a protest and performed the consecration of a horse-riding statue of Shivaji Maharaj with milk.
A group of MVA leaders met senior Thane police officials and submitted a memorandum listing their demands, including an impartial inquiry into the entire episode. In the memorandum addressed to the Thane police commissioner, the MVA leaders demanded the immediate arrest of project contractor Apte.
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