Pettiness of opposition: Devendra Fadnavis after PM Modi's apologises for Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. File Pic

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday lambasted opposition for its "pettiness" over the collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue at Sindhudurg after Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologised to the people of Maharashtra who were hurt by the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse, reported news agency ANI.

Speaking to the media on Friday, Fadnavis said, "The opposition is only seeing the politics in the incident, they cannot see beyond the politics. The Prime Minister has openly apologised to all the devotees of Shivaji Maharaj. Doing politics on this is the pettiness of the opposition. We do not need the Congress's certificate," reported ANI.

IN PHOTOS: BMC school teachers protest against staffing shortages, pension issues

2 months agoPHOTO GALLERY

Earlier PM Modi while addressing a gathering at Malvan in Maharashtra's Palghar district apologised for the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident.

"Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them. Our values are different. For us, nothing is bigger than our deity," PM Modi said, reported ANI.

A 35-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the state's Sindhudurg district collapsed on August 26.

Notably, in December last year, PM Modi had inaugurated the 35-foot statue of Shivaji Maharaj in coastal Maharashtra. Less than nine months later, the statue collapsed.

Simply apologising won't do, Maharashtra's pride hurt, says Patole

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has said that simply apologising for the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse will not suffice as the episode has "hurt the pride of Maharashtra", reported PTI.

He made the remarks on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of the warrior king's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district.

Talking to reporters in Bhandara, Patole said, "What made him (PM) apologise ? It means he has acknowledged that he had made a mistake. When the statue was ready, as a prime minister, he or his team should have checked whether the statue was alright, whether the foundation was strong and whether the certificate from the cultural director was sought or not," reported PTI.

"The issue cannot be addressed with just a simple apology. Be it the PM, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde or Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, they have hurt the pride of Maharashtra. They should step down from power or people of the state will oust them," he said, reported PTI.

The people of Maharashtra who worship Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj will not forget the insult to their deity, the Congress leader said, and alleged that the statue was hastily installed by the state government for unveiling by the PM.

The work was entrusted to an inexperienced individual and instructions given by the cultural department regarding the statue were ignored, resulting in substandard work and its collapse, he alleged.

Responding to Shinde and Fadnavis's appeal that the opposition should not politicise the statue issue, Patole alleged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has consistently insulted Shivaji Maharaj and used his name just to get votes, reported PTI.

"Despite the disgrace that Maharashtra faced due to corruption in the construction of the Shivaji Maharaj's statue, the extremely corrupt BJP alliance government felt no remorse," Patole said, reported PTI.

(With inputs from ANI and PTI)