Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Friday said he would head the committee formed for the project to install the 300-feet Shivaji statue in the Arabian Sea.
Chavan said no committee had been formed under the chairmanship of historian Babasaheb Purandare.
He asserted that being the chairman, he was fully authorised to consult any expert like that of Purandare.
Earlier, though the Chavan had directed officials to have Purandare on the committee, there was no specific order to make him the head of the committee.
Hardline Maratha organisations had protested to the state government inviting historian Babasaheb Purandare as the consultant for the project. Maratha Seva Sangh had objected to appointing Purandare, a Brahmin, for a consultant for the project.
They wanted someone from the Maratha community.