Controversy erupts over Shivaji statue collapse in Maharashtra

By a Staff Reporter: The collapse of statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has ignited controversy in Maharashtra. The 35-ft statue in Sindhudurg district collapsed on 26 August amid heavy monsoon rains. The massive statue was built at a cost of Rs 23.6 million. The 35-ft tall statue was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December last year. Now PM Modi has issued an apology to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and those affected by the incident. 

In response, the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and Sindhudurg District’s Guardian Minister extended their condolences on behalf of the government. Criminal charges have been filed against the sculptor and the structural auditor responsible for erecting the statue and an inquiry committee has been established. 

Additionally, the Navy, which oversaw the statue's construction, expressed remorse. A joint commission between the state administration and the Navy would look into the collapse, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde recently declared. He also said that he was going to build a large statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the same spot in Rajkot.

The administration has come under fire from the opposition despite the government's efforts to rectify the problem. Though some in Maharashtra find this shameful, many others think the opposition has been exaggerating the incident and introducing a communal angle into the state's political and social environment. People believe that the level of governmental criticism is at an all-time high in the state's history.

Many people expressed disapproval of the opposition leaders' current course of action. Senior politicians like Sharad Pawar and Congress President Nana Patole were accused by locals of inciting Narayan Rane's supporters in Malvan, while Uddhav Thackeray and his faction were accused of infusing a sectarian tone into their news conference in Mumbai. Caste-based comments were made against the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister during the press conference; Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis was called a “descendant of the Peshwas.”

Some perceive the current moves of the opposition as an attempt to use the dispute over the statue to turn Maharashtra into another political battleground like to Bangladesh. The Congress, according to the BJP, started this polarizing trend in 1948 and it has persisted for 75 years after independence. Chief of the Maharashtra National Party (MNS), Raj Thackeray, has often accused Sharad Pawar and his associates of instigating the caste war between Brahmins and non-Brahmins in Maharashtra since the party's founding.