Clash between Thackeray and Rane supporters at Malvan

Moving swiftly to corner the Mahayuti government, the opposition MVA has announced statewide protests from September 1, beginning with a march to the Shivaji Maharaj statue at the Gateway of India

MUMBAI: The collapse of the barely-eight-month-old Chhatrapati Shivaji statue at Rajkot Fort in Malvan turned into a major political issue on Wednesday, with supporters of BJP MP Narayan Rane and Shiv Sena (UBT) and Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) workers clashing at the fort. A policeman was injured in the physical altercation and stone-pelting.

Clash between Thackeray and Rane supporters at Malvan

Moving swiftly to corner the Mahayuti government, the opposition MVA has announced statewide protests from September 1, beginning with a march to the Shivaji Maharaj statue at the Gateway of India.

The metal statue of the Maratha warrior king was unveiled by PM Narendra Modi last December during the Indian Navy Day celebration. While the state government blamed the heavy winds on the Malvan coast for its collapse and later the Navy, who they said was responsible for the construction, MVA workers are holding the Shinde government responsible.

The tussle at Malvan began when supporters of Narayan Rane and Shiv Sena (UBT) came face to face at Rajkot Fort. Rane had visited in the morning and left, and only his son Nilesh and his supporters were there when Aaditya reached the fort with NCP (SP) state president Jayant Patil and other leaders, and went inside to the site of the statue.

Nilesh Rane accused the Thackeray faction of deliberately creating trouble. He said his party had informed the police about the timing of their visit and questioned the simultaneous arrival of the Thackeray camp leaders. Aaditya, on his part, termed the agitation by BJP workers as “childish”. “I have told my party workers not to get involved in the politics of the ruling alliance,” he said. “This is not the place for such things. But the behaviour of the ruling party workers is childish and betrays their upbringing.”

As the protests by the opposition continued across the state, the top three MVA leaders—NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and state Congress president Nana Patole—held a meeting at Thackeray’s Bandra residence. “We had decided to call a bandh on the Badlapur incident but the high court issued an order against it,” Uddhav Thackeray told the media later. “Now there is unrest in Maharashtra over the Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse so we will protest on September 1. MVA leaders will first go to Hutatma Chowk and pay tribute there and then proceed to the Gateway of India. We will launch a statewide ‘Jode Mara’ (Hit them with shoes) movement against the Mahayuti government.”

According to MVA insiders, the three parties have decided to corner the alliance government on the statue issue, as it has already evoked strong reactions across the state. It comes at a time when the government is struggling to find a way to handle the Maratha reservation demand, which affected it badly in the recent Lok Sabha elections. Shivaji Maharaj is revered by the people of the state, especially the Maratha community.

The MVA also stated that corruption was responsible for the statue’s collapse. “The incident shows the level of corruption in the Mahayuti government,” said Pawar. “They did not spare even the Shivaji Maharaj statue. There are rules about constructing statues in the state, and the government cannot escape its responsibility.”

Thackeray slammed the government for pointing fingers at the Navy. “It’s shameful that CM Shinde blamed winds for the collapse,” he said. “Now the BJP and Shinde are blaming the Navy for the incident. The statue collapsed because of corruption in awarding the contract to an inexperienced sculptor and the pressure on him to complete the work in a very short time. This incident has again proved that the Mahayuti government is anti-Maharashtra and anti-Shivaji Maharaj.”

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Wednesday apologised to the people of the state. “It is a painful incident,” he said. “I apologise to the 13 crore people of the state. There will be a probe and the guilty will be punished.”