Palghar, August 30: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (August 30), speaking in Maharashtra's Palghar, apologised over the collapse of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Sindhudurg on Monday (August 26). "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not only a king for us but he is our aaradhya dev (deity). I bow my head and apologise for what happened in Sindhudurg days ago," said PM Modi.
The statue was inaugurated by PM Modi in the presence of Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and deputy CM's Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar in December, 2023, on the occasion of Navy Day.
PM Modi's apology comes after a relentless attack by the opposition parties in Maharashtra over the statue collapse incident.
PM Modi, shortly after apologising over the statue collapse incident, also made a veiled attack at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for insulting Veer Savarkar. "Even after abusing Veer Savarkar, a leader is not ready to apologise and is even willing to fight in the court. The people of Maharashtra should understand the sanskar of such leaders who do this," said PM Modi.
"It is my sanskar that I am bowing my head at the feat of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and apologising over the incident," said PM Modi.
Maharashtra Govt Jumps Into Action
After the statue collapse and following the political uproar over the incident, the Maharashtra government jumped into action and an FIR was filed against contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil.
The Maharashtra government has ensured of strict action in the matter. However, the opposition parties including Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress and NCP (SP) has been criticising the Maharashtra state government over the matter. Considering that Maharashtra assembly elections are approaching, the Mahayuti government in the state is doing all it can to contain the damage post the statue collapse.
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