Why Ajit Pawar-led NCP is protesting against its own govt over Shivaji statue collapse

In a clear sign of rift, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which is part of the Maharashtra government, on Thursday (August 29) staged silent protests across the state over the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Sindhudurg and sought action against those responsible, while the party’s state chief asserted that everyone has the right to agitate.

In a statement, Maharashtra NCP chief Sunil Tatkare said, “It is very painful and heart-wrenching that the statue of the great Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj erected at the Rajkot fort in Malvan has crashed. It is shocking that this statue fell in just eight months (after it was inaugurated).”

"It cannot be denied that an unforgivable mistake was made. In order to protest this tragedy and to take precautions to prevent such accidents from happening in the future, the Nationalist Congress Party organised a rally across the state from 11 am to 12 noon on Thursday.”

Seeks action against guilty

Earlier, addressing Ajit Pawar's Jansanman Yatra, Tatkare said the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj's statue was painful, and added that his party decided to protest against the incident as everyone has the right to do so. “In democracy, everyone has a right to agitate. The incident of Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Malvan is unfortunate and painful.”

The NCP workers staged protests across the state. The local party leaders also submitted a memorandum of demands with the tehsildars and district collectors, seeking stringent action against those responsible for the poor quality of the statue. The party demanded that the government work round the clock and build a new statue at Rajkot Fort to honour Shivaji Maharaj.

Interestingly, Tatkare also hit out at senior BJP leader Narayan Rane for his alleged remarks during a tussle with the Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders at Malvan in Sindhudurg on Wednesday. He said, “Rane's statement is improper. Though the statue collapse incident is painful, this kind of language does not befit a responsible leader. This is not in sync with the culture of Maharashtra.”

Slams BJP leader for his remarks

Notably, the BJP and the Shiv Sena (UBT) workers clashed in the coastal town of Malvan on Wednesday after both Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray and BJP’s Rane arrived simultaneously to inspect the site where a 35-foot tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj collapsed on Monday.

The two factions were engaged in a face-off, prompting Rane to openly threaten the Sena (UBT) workers in front of police, declaring his intent to “invade their homes and kill them”. The confrontation occurred when the police denied Rane access to the site as he along with his supporters arrived there at the same time when Aaditya was already at the site. This led to a heated exchange with Rane supporters shouting slogans and attempting to force their way in.

Precursor to return?

The NCP’s protest assumes significance given that the party is one of the three constituents in the Mahayuti government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Ajit Pawar’s move also needs to be seen in the backdrop of prevailing political landscape in Maharashtra. There has been a drastic change in the state’s politics over the last couple of years, as two regional forces – Shiv Sena and NCP – have suffered a split. Interestingly, one of the factions of both the parties is in the ruling alliance while the other faction is a part of the Opposition MVA bloc.

The MVA put up a great show in the Lok Sabha polls, winning 30 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Now, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is keen on staging a comeback in the assembly polls.

Ajit’s NCP faction won just one seat in the Lok Sabha election and lost several leaders to the Sharad Pawar faction after the poll results. He also admitted that fielding his wife Sunetra Pawar against his cousin and Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule from Baramati was a “mistake”. The developments have sparked buzz on whether the junior Pawar is considering returning to uncle Sharad Pawar's camp after a string of setbacks. Ajit Pawar has, however, said he is firmly with the NDA and has expressed confidence that the bloc will form the government in Maharashtra again.

Opposition’s protest on Sept 1

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

The incident has snowballed into a major political controversy with the Opposition MVA targeting the Shinde-led Mahayuti government over it.

The alliance leaders have announced to stage a protest over the issue in Mumbai on September 1. The leaders, including, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole, will take out the march from Hutatma Chowk to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue near the Gateway of India in Mumbai from 11 am on Sunday. The MVA accused the three-party government of corruption and compromising Maharashtra's pride.