NCP (Sharad Pawar) chief Sharad Pawar on Tuesday accused that “corruption” was the root cause that led to the collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district’s Rajkot Fort in August.
Pawar was at an event in Kagal in Kolhapur where he welcomed the BJP leader Raje Samarjeet Ghatge into the NCP (SP) fold.
“It was Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who underlined the strategic importance of the sea, and built Sindhudurg and other sea forts. It was shocking to see that a statue, built only a few months ago and inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, collapsed,” the senior leader said.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde attributed the incident to strong winds, Mr Pawar noted.
“In Mumbai, at the Gateway of India, there is a statue of Shivaji Maharaj, installed by the state’s first chief minister Yashwantrao Chavan sixty years ago, and that statue is still standing strong despite the strong winds,” he said.
The reason for the collapse was clearly corruption, he claimed.
“Those in power today shamelessly engage in corruption, even in the construction of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue, and it is up to us to ensure they do not hold the reins of the state (again). We have decided to create leadership that is clean, virtuous and capable of safeguarding the interests of common people,” he said.
Mr Pawar while welcoming Mr Ghatge and his other colleagues into the NCP (SP), exuded confidence that the people of Kagal will elect Mr Ghatge to the legislative assembly. He indicated that Mr Ghatge would be taking on local MLA and minister Hasan Mushrif. Mushrif is a leader of the Ajit Pawar-led rival NCP. Shivaji’s statue collapse has led to major embarrassment for the BJP, particularly in Maharashtra.
