CM Eknath Shinde on MVA’s protest against Shivaji statue collapse

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India]September 1 (ANI): Terming the Maha Vikas Aghadi protest as “political”, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said it was sad that the opposition was playing politics on the Shivaji Maharaj issue. He also claimed that the people of Maharashtra will beat them (the opposition) with shoes in the coming elections.

“This is very sad for us. Shivaji Maharaj cannot be a political issue for us, it is a question of identity and faith for us. The incident was unfortunate. Making politics out of it is sad and the opposition is making politics out of it. Two JCBs were used to smash the statue of Shivaji Maharaj in Karnataka and that statue was uprooted. Those who did this should be beaten. Instead of doing that, they (MVA) are protesting here but the people of Maharashtra are smart, they see this. In the coming elections, the people of Maharashtra will beat them with shoes,” he said.

Shiv Sena MP (UBT) Sanjay Raut today said the Aghadis would not sit still in the face of such a major incident and the BJP had gone mad by holding a counter demonstration against them.

“This is the problem in Maharashtra. Devendra Fadnavis is the mastermind behind all this. The whole country knows this. Modi ji knows this too. Whether it is the Chief Minister or the Deputy CM, will the problem be solved by an apology? Let the people of Maharashtra express their feelings. Will we sit quietly? Such a big statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been smashed, and that too in the fort within seven months, and we will sit quietly? Are the people of Maharashtra powerless? We have to do something in a democratic way. It is a great feature of democracy that one can protest,” he said.

Congress MP Bhai Jagtap said that even after the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapsed, the government showed no shame.

“This land is known as the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, his statue has collapsed and they are not ashamed of it. They say one should not politicise this but if the BJP is protesting in support of them then they should be ashamed. The people of Maharashtra will not forgive them. They have said that Prime Minister Modi has apologised. You do not apologise in front of thousands of people by raising your fist. Maharashtra is the land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj… Why did he not fly to Malvan in a helicopter and visit the place where the state collapsed?” he said.

NCP-SCP leader Rajesh Tope said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is the pride and spirit of Maharashtra. I think this incident has hurt both. Our protest march is a part of democracy. Not giving permission is like strangling democracy. The government should not do this; it should give permission.” While the MVA's protest march, which began from Hutatma Chowk to Gateway of India, aimed at condemning the incident, the BJP held a counter march against the MVA in Mumbai's Dadri area, accusing it of politicising the issue.

A 35-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district collapsed on August 26. It was unveiled on December 4 last year during Navy Day celebrations and was the first such event in Sindhudurg. (ANI)