Ajit Pawar apologises for Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse; Sena (UBT), Rane supporters clash

MUMBAI, Aug 28: 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 an outrage and vowed to punish the guilty as 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 for avoiding 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 at the site to prevent any untoward incident.
Thackeray termed the ruckus as “unfortunate”. 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. (PTI)