‘Apologise to our deity…’: PM Modi on Chhatrapati Shivaji statue collapse

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised for the collapse of Chhattrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised for the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg. 

“In 2013, BJP named me as PM candidate. The first thing I did was sit before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's samadhi at Raigad as a devotee and started on a new journey,” Modi said in Palghar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses a rally in Maharashtra's Palghar. (ANI/X)

“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name for us... today I bow my head and apologise to my god Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Our values ​​are different, we are not those people who keep abusing and insulting the great son of Mother India, the son of this land, Veer Savarkar. They are not ready to apologize, they are ready to go to the courts and fight,” he said.

The prime minister's response comes amid the controversy raging over the collapse of the 35-foot Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue collapsed on August 26.

The statue was unveiled on December 4 last year as part of the Navy Day celebrations held for the first time in Sindhudurg, aimed at honouring the legacy of the Maratha Navy and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in maritime defence and security.

Congress demanded PM's apology over statue collapse
 

The Congress had lashed out at the prime minister over the statue collapse, demanding his apology for the same. 

"Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who is worshipped in the whole of Maharashtra and India, to whom we call "public's king", his statue was made in Malvan's Rajkot Fort, which was inaugurated by PM Modi. First, of all, I want to ask PM Modi Ji about the bhumi-pujan he did for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in the Arabian Sea," Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad was quoted by ANI as saying.