Two days after the newly constructed statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj collapsed at Rajkot Fort in Malvan, Sindhudurg, the angry reactions of people see no subside, especially following the remarks by the Mahayuti leaders.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) has called for a bandh (strike) in Malvan today, which is receiving a good response by the locals. As per reports, 80 to 90 per cent of shops in the town are shut extending support to the bandh call. On the other side, Shiv Sene (UBT) has demanded setting up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the corruption and poor construction of the statue.
#WATCH | Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue incident | Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut says, “…There should be an SIT under the leadership of a sitting High Court judge. Otherwise, what do these people do, they put their people in the SIT…I will demand that an inquiry be… pic.twitter.com/4SXnrflkBZ
— ANI (@ANI) August 28, 2024
The MVA leaders on Wednesday slammed the state minister Deepak Kesarkar’s remarks as shameful and pitiful after the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue collapsed. Kesarkar after his visit to the Rajkot Fort on Tuesday, instead of condemning the poor construction of the newly erected statue, said that now there is an opportunity to build a 100-ft long statue.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said, “This matter is not going to cool down. We demand SIT under a sitting High Court judge, otherwise BJP appointed their own people in the SIT. We will strongly protest against the government’s irresponsible attitude.”
Meanwhile, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule has staged a protest in Pune’s Baramati condemning the statue collapse incident.
बारामती, पुणे ⏭️ 28-08-2024 ➡️ शिवशिल्पाच्या समर्थनार्थ आयोजित निषेध आंदोलनातून लाईव्ह
https://t.co/CtuSRvUNG3
— Supriya Sule (@supriya_sule) August 28, 2024
It was also revealed on Tuesday that the PWD department had warned the authorities about the statue’s rusted nuts and bolts, and local residents and tourists had also highlighted the statue’s poor condition. The department had also mentioned to direct the sculptor Jaydeep Apte to provide a permanent solution.
However, the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities and local politicians resulted the collapse of the statue and the apparent connection of the sculptor Apter to MP Shrikanth Eknath Shinde has led to massive political backlash.
