After Collapse Of Modi-Unveiled Statue, Rahul Gandhi Opens Chhatrapati Shivaji Sculpture [Watch]

Kolhapur: Just over a month after a 35-foot statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj collapsed at Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, Congress sought to make a point ahead of state Assembly elections which are likely to take place next month.

Rahul Gandhi on Saturday unveiled a 20-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in Kolhapur.

Urging people to follow in the footsteps of the Great Maratha Ruler and freedom fighter, Rahul had an advice for the people.

“While we inaugurate the statue, we must not fight over it, and try to follow what they fought for. The Constitution of India came into being from what Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj thought. If you are talking about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, then you must respect the Constitution,” said the Congress leader.

He did not miss the opportunity to criticise the BJP, which is part of the Maharashtra coalition government. Rahul claimed that the statue which was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi last December had come down because the government didn’t follow Shivaji’s ideologies.

The collapse of the statue sparked widespread outrage.

“The Congress party today is fighting against the same ideology that Shivaji Maharaj fought against. They (BJP) made a statue of Shivaji Maharaj and after a few days, the statue broke and fell. Their intention was wrong and the statue gave them a message that if you want to make a statue of Shivaji Maharaj, then you have to protect the ideology of Shivaji Maharaj,” said Rahul.

“The statue fell because their ideology is wrong… They did not allow the tribal President to attend the inauguration of Ram Mandir and Parliament… This is not a political fight, this is a fight of ideology,” he added.