MVA politicising Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident to shape adverse public perception: Bawankule

Chandrashekhar Bawankule. File Pic

Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday accused the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) of politicising Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse incident to shape adverse public perception, reported the PTI.

Chandrashekhar Bawankule accused the MVA was conducting a survey to gauge the voters' mood ahead of the state assembly elections by capitalising on the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra.

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Chandrashekhar Bawankule was responding to a query about a survey conducted by the MVA which purportedly showed the Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), and Congress winning 180 out of 288 constituencies, and BJP only 40, as per the PTI.

"They conducted a survey against the backdrop of the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj's statue at Rajkot fort in coastal Malvan. This shows their mentality to use the unfortunate incident for political mileage," the BJP leader told reporters, according to the PTI.

The statue of the 17th-century Maratha warrior king, unveiled by PM Modi on December 4, 2023, fell on August 26, triggering a political firestorm.

Reacting to former minister Eknath Khadse's reported statement that he would rejoin NCP (SP) since his cross-over to the BJP is in limbo, Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed he was not aware of Khadse's stand.

"He (Khadse) supported the BJP in getting Raksha Khadse elected as MP in the Lok Sabha elections. I think he would continue to support BJP and stay with us," he added, the news agency reported on Monday.

Meanwhile, the leaders from MVA, which comprises the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and Congress, protested on Sunday, September 1, against the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Sindhudurg district.

On Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) Member of Parliament Arvind Sawant, who was one of the MVA leaders at Hutatma Chowk, said, "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is like God for us. His statue collapsed, and with that, our devotion, honour, and self-respect also collapsed. [Party chief] Uddhav Thackeray has said that is an insult to Maharashtra. We are being stopped in our own Maharashtra by our own police [for the protest march]. I have never seen such helpless police," the ANI reported on Sunday.

He also criticised PM Modi and said that his apology was a political statement. "What if they did [apologise]? See the timing. Isn't the statement political? PM always makes political statements. Had he felt any sympathy, he would have gone to Manipur. The Central Government's policy is to disrespect Maharashtra. This is not a political agitation. It is for the honour of Mahrashtra, which has been insulted," the lawmaker further said, as per the ANI.

(with PTI and ANI inputs)