35-foot statue of Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled by PM Modi last year, collapses in Maharashtra

The Opposition parties in Maharashtra on Monday (August 26) slammed the state government after a statue of Maratha King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a fort in Sindhudurg district, collapsed.

A 35-foot statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj collapsed around 1 pm on Monday at Rajkot Fort in Malvan, an official said.

Experts will ascertain the exact cause of the collapse, but the district has witnessed heavy rains and gusty winds in the last two to three days, he said.

Senior officials of the police and district administration reached the site to take stock of the situation, and the damage is being examined, he said.

PM Modi unveiled the statue on December 4 last year on the occasion of Navy Day. He also participated in the celebrations at the fort.

Opposition leaders slam state government

NCP (SP) state president and former minister Jayant Patil said, "The state government is responsible for the collapse, as it did not take proper care. The government paid little attention to the quality of work. It only focused on conducting an event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was invited to unveil the statue. This Maharashtra government only issues new tenders, accepts commissions and gives contracts accordingly."

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Vaibhav Naik also criticised the state government for the alleged poor quality of the work.

"The state government may try to evade responsibility. People responsible for the construction and erection of the statue must be probed thoroughly," he said.

Maharashtra Minister Deepak Kesarkar said, "I don't have all the details about the incident. However, it's important to note that PWD Minister Ravindra Chavan, also the guardian minister of Sindhudurg district, has said a thorough investigation will be conducted in the matter." "We are committed to erecting a new statue at the same location. This statue, unveiled by PM Modi, pays tribute to Shivaji Maharaj's visionary efforts in building a sea fort. We will take all necessary steps to address this matter promptly and effectively," he said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi took to her X (formerly Twitter) account to attack the government. "It is infuriating to see videos of the fallen statue of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The BJP-KhokeSena-AP(NCP) should be ashamed that they chose business of money and politics over the pride, the symbol and the hero of Maharashtra (sic)," she wrote.

Sharing images of the collapse of the statue on X, Shiva Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said the memorial was built in haste and inagurated by Modi due to Lok Sabha elections.

"We will never tolerate the insult of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, who is our and all Maharashtra's idol! Chhatrapati Shivaji's memorial in Malvan, which was built in haste keeping the elections in sight and inaugurated by Modi ji, collapsed today in just 8 months.

"The contractor Dharjini regime of the Mindhe government is the reason for this, but even more dangerous is the mentality of the BJP. They have the arrogance that we will do anything and get away with it. Because of that arrogance, Maharaj's memorial was made in haste without considering the seriousness of it. The intention was to use only the Maharaja's image, so the quality of the memorial was not taken into account. Didn't even hear what the locals said.

"Today, when we saw the statue of our Maharaj falling down, I felt great pain in my heart. The Mindhe regime and the poisonous snake called BJP, which insulted the Maharaja, must now bite! Every image of Chhatrapati Shivarai, who is the pride of Maharashtra, should be taken care of! (sic)," he wrote in Marathi.

(With agency inputs)