Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse: ‘Sculptor was close to RSS’, alleges Congress

Amid the political storm in Maharashtra over the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Malvan, state Congress chief Nana Patole on Thursday claimed that the sculptor who made the statue was close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Patole’s comment came after the state cultural affairs minister Sudhir Mungantiwar had said that the sculptor was close to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

“The artist Jaydeep Apte had no experience of making a statue of such a scale. Apte is associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh…Someone told me that the artist is close to Rahul Gandhi. Need to verify this information…..There seems to be a new habit of making wild allegations,” he told the media, as quoted by PTI.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s 35-foot statue at the Rajkot Fort in Malvan collapsed on August 26, nearly nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it. According to the state public works department, the statue’s construction was of “poor quality,” and its nuts and bolts rusted.

The incident sparked massive outrage across the state, with the opposition parties demanding Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde’s resignation before the assembly polls.

According to the Opposition, the incident is an “insult to the legacy” of the 17th-century Maratha emperor. The Congress also asked if Modi would apologise for the incident.

Meanwhile, the Ajit Pawar-led NCP staged silent protests in Pune and other parts of western Maharashtra on Thursday, demanding action against those responsible for the collapse of the statue.

FIR against sculptor, structural engineer – who is responsible?
The Sindhudurg police have registered an FIR against the sculptor, Apte, and structural engineer Chetan Patil in connection with the incident.

However, Patil claimed that he was not the structural consultant for the project and had only worked on the platform. According to him, he had simply submitted the platform’s design to the Indian Navy through the public works department.

The PWD also blamed the Indian Navy, saying that they were in a “great hurry” to complete the statue before its slated inauguration on the Navy Day function on December 4 last year.

Indian Navy issues statement

Meanwhile, the Indian Navy issued a statement on Thursday, saying that it conceptualised and steered the project of installing the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in coordination with the state government which also provided funding for it.

“The Statue was unveiled on 04 Dec 2023 as part of the Navy Day celebrations conducted, for the first time, in Sindhudurg, aimed at honouring the legacy of the Maratha Navy and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj towards maritime defense and security, and its historical linkage with the modern Indian Navy. The project was conceptualised and steered by the Indian Navy, in coordination with the state govt which also provided funding for it”, the statement said.

The Navy added that it “remains committed to assisting in all measures to repair, restore and reinstate the statue at the earliest”.