Statue collapse: NCP stages protest, says everyone has right to protest | Politics News

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which is part of the Maharashtra government, on Thursday held silent protests across the state against the collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue and demanded action against those responsible, while the state party chief asserted that everyone has the right to agitate.

The 35-foot statue of the 17th-century founder of the Maratha Empire, installed at Rajkot Fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg, collapsed on August 26, nearly nine months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The incident has escalated into a major political controversy with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) party targeting the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government over the issue.

Party activists then staged protests across the state. Local leaders also submitted a memorandum of demands to tehsildars and district collectors, seeking strict action against the artist and others responsible for the poor quality of the statue.

The NCP’s protest assumes significance given that the party is one of the three constituents of the Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and given the potential political ramifications amid the huge outrage over the statue’s collapse.

Speaking in Nanded during Ajit Pawar’s Jansanman Yatra, Maharashtra NCP president Sunil Tatkare said the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj’s statue was painful and added that his party had decided to protest the incident as everyone has the right to do so. “In a democracy, everyone has the right to protest.

The incident of Shivaji Maharaj statue in Malvan is unfortunate and painful. We are also mobilising against this incident and demanding strong action against the culprits by submitting memoranda to the authorities.” Referring to BJP leader Narayan Rane’s reported remarks during a clash between his supporters and Shiv Sena (UBT) workers during Aaditya Thackeay’s visit to Rajkot Fort on Wednesday, Tatkare said, “Rane’s statement is inappropriate.

While the incident of the statue collapsing is painful, such language is not befitting of a responsible leader. It is not in sync with the culture of Maharashtra.” In Pune, the NCP city unit staged a protest near the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Shivajinagar district.

Speaking at the protest, NCP city unit president Deepak Mankar urged the state government to reconstruct the statue as early as possible.

“For us, Chhatrpati Shivaji Maharaj is a source of pride and a symbol of our identity,” he said. Mankar added that action should be taken against those responsible for the collapse of the statue.

Party chief Ajit Pawar also condemned the incident and said the party’s Pune unit would submit a memorandum to the district collector in this regard. Pradeep Deshmukh, president of the NCP’s Pune unit, sought to know how the contract for the statue was awarded to someone who had no experience in building huge statues. “Action must be taken against the people responsible, including officials,” he said.

When asked why the NCP was protesting despite being a member of the ruling Mahayuti alliance, he said Deshmukh had said, “For the sake of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, we can sacrifice hundreds of such governments.

(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)