The apology by ‘hardly-ever apologetic’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the wake of the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Sindhudurg probably came as a surprise to the state BJP unit as there was a stunned silence on electronic media and social media platforms for hours.
Normally, the party machinery is so strong that its warriors brace up on every platform after an event and take no time to launch responses. Here, it was only in the evening that some leaders asked the opposition to step back as the Prime Minister had apologised. The chain of events in the incident assume significance as no one from the state BJP top brass apologised and only two leaders – state PWD minister Ravindra Chavan and local MP Narayan Rane – visited the site.
According to party insiders, there’s a lot at stake politically as the BJP attempts to establish itself as a major force sans Uddhav Thackeray, especially after the Lok Sabha election result debacle for the party in Maharashtra.
According to party insiders, the central unit has its watchful eyes on each and every development in view of the upcoming polls. Even the PM’s decision to apologise may have a strong bearing on poll preparations. Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Bhupendra Yadav have already taken charge of the state affairs and a bunch of leaders from the neighbouring Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Karnataka are assisting them actively.
Apart from the electioneering, the PM’s apology has much to do with defusing attempts by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) to extract political mileage, that too on the most sensitive issue. Congress was quick to react, with Prithviraj Chavan calling it a “political and conditional apology”. He said there was also no need to bring Savarkar into the picture.
Chavan raked up the issue on Saturday as well. He said, “The fall of the statue is clearly a case of corruption. The statue was to be made of bronze, but a 3D printed statue was used instead and it was fixed with nuts and bolts. The artist was inexperienced. This incident is a blot on the reputation of the state. Whatever may be the background of the culprits, these people should be punished for their deeds.”
Notably, the tone and tenor of the PM while expressing his apology was quite noticeable. He apologised to “the Maratha warrior king and those who worship him”. It’s the difference between the almost right word and the right word.
