Mumbai: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji and all those who were hurt by the collapse of the legendary Maratha ruler’s statue at Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district.
“The moment I landed here, I first apologised to Shivaji over the statue collapse. I also apologise to the people who were hurt by the collapse,” PM Modi said in Palghar.
“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,” Modi added.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who helms the Shiv Sena (Shinde)-BJP-NCP (Ajit Pawar) coalition government in Maharashtra, also apologised after the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance accused the ruling government of corruption in statue construction.
Amid the raging controversy, Shinde said on Thursday he was ready to put his head on the Maratha warrior’s feet and apologise 100 times.
The 35-foot statue, which was unveiled by the PM last December, collapsed on August 26.
Modi took a jibe at the Opposition, especially Congress, when he spoke about BJP’s values.
The Prime Minister also slipped in a swipe at the Opposition for “insulting and abusing the son of the land” Veer Savarkar.
“Our values are different, we are not those people who keep abusing and insulting the great son of Mother India, the son of this land, Veer Savarkar. They are not ready to apologise, they are ready to go to the courts and fight,” Modi added.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, is fighting a criminal defamation case filed by Savarkar’s grandson Satyaki Savarkar. The Congress leader has been accused of making false allegations against the Hindutva ideologue during an address in London.
