Pune: NCP workers on Thursday held demonstrations in various districts to protest the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Malvan despite being a part of Maharashtra govt, after the party chief, Ajit Pawar, apologised to the entire state taking the onus of the incident as a part of the ruling dispensation. Echoing the opposition’s demand, NCP workers sought a strong action against those responsible for the collapse of the statue. The city unit of NCP staged a silent protest near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue on the campus of SSPMS in Shivajinagar.
“Prima facie it appears that there was gross negligence regarding following the norms while installing the statue. It is quite shocking that the statue collapsed within eight months of its installation. We demand state govt to take the strictest possible action against the people involved in the process of the statue’s installation,” Deepak Mankar, the city unit chief of NCP, said.
While the opposition is targeting state govt, NCP’s statewide demonstrations over the issue have caught the govt in a fix. Pradeep Deshmukh, the working president of NCP’s Pune unit, said, “When it comes to Shivaji Maharaj, there will not be any compromise because he is our national pride. Whether we are a part of govt or we are in opposition, we will never tolerate the insult of our national icon.
We held demonstrations to send a strong message that such incidents should not repeat in future.” A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled around nine months ago on Dec 4 last year by PM Modi on the occasion of Navy Day at Rajkot fort in Malvan in Sindhudurg district, collapsed on Monday (Aug 26). We also published the following articles recently NCP demonstrates to protest collapse of Shivaji Maharajs statue NCP workers held demonstrations in various districts protesting the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Malvan.
Ajit Pawar apologised, accepting responsibility for the incident. NCP demanded strict action against those responsible for the negligence leading to the statue's collapse within eight months of installation, highlighting the need for governmental attention to prevent future occurrences. Unveiled 9 months ago, 35ft steel statue of Shivaji at Malvan fort collapses A statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled by PM Modi nine months ago in Sindhudurg district, collapsed under strong winds.
CM Eknath Shinde termed the incident unfortunate and promised reinstalling it. Opposition parties criticized the government for neglecting quality and called for a thorough investigation into the construction and installation process. Collapsed statue of Shivaji Maharaj was built by Navy, says Fadnavis; Opposition slams govt for shifting blame Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis emphasized that the Navy, not the state, was accountable for constructing the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg, which collapsed due to possible local environmental oversight.
Opposition parties lambasted the government, alleging corruption and rushed installation. An inquiry is being conducted to understand the causes..
