Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has called for the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde following the collapse of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district. Raut has alleged corruption in the statue's construction and asserted that such disrespect to Shivaji Maharaj had never been witnessed even under Aurangzeb and the Mughal rulers.
The 35-foot statue of the 17th-century Maratha warrior king, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot Fort in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg on Navy Day (December 4) last year, collapsed on Monday afternoon.
"We need the resignation of the chief minister for hurting the feelings of (the people of) Maharashtra. Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Ravindra Chavan should be sacked. They did not even spare Shivaji Maharaj and indulged in corruption," the Sena (UBT) MP added.
Raut criticized the decision to award the statue's construction contract to people connected to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, calling it a serious matter that the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is addressing with concern. He challenged CM Shinde's explanation that the statue's collapse was due to 45 km/h winds, noting that coastal areas are naturally windy. Raut pointed out that Lokmanya Tilak's statue, installed in 1933 at Girgaon Chowpatty, and the statue of Shivaji Maharaj installed by Pandit Nehru at Pratapgad Fort in 1956, both remain intact despite facing similar weather conditions.