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Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered a public apology on Friday for the collapse of a statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Malvan, Maharashtra,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered a public apology on Friday for the collapse of a statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Malvan, Maharashtra, which he had unveiled last December. Speaking at an event in Palghar, Modi said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a king. For us, he is our deity. Today, I bow my head at his feet and apologise to my deity.”
The prime minister’s apology comes amid outrage in Maharashtra over the incident, as Shivaji Maharaj is a revered figure and his legacy is a sensitive issue in the state. The 35-foot statue, erected at Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg, collapsed due to strong winds last week, just eight months after its inauguration by PM Modi.
“The people revere Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as a deity, they have been deeply hurt…I bow and offer my sincere apologies… Nothing holds a higher place than our own deities,” Modi said, acknowledging the pain of Shivaji’s devotees.
The collapse of the statue has been a major embarrassment for the ruling Mahayuti government in Maharashtra, with Assembly elections just around the corner. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi faction has been relentlessly attacking the government over the issue, demanding the PM’s apology.
Even the Shinde government’s ally, the NCP (Ajit Pawar), saw protests from its own party cadres across the state condemning the statue collapse. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also visited the site where the statue collapsed.
In a veiled dig at the opposition, PM Modi said, “Some people keep abusing Veer Savarkar but are not ready to apologize for insulting him.” He stressed that the voters of Maharashtra should not forget “those people” who want to keep the state behind in development.
The prime minister also laid the foundation stone of the Vadhvan Port project in Palghar, worth around ₹76,000 crores. He claimed it would be the biggest and deepest port in the world, capable of handling the trade of many other ports combined.
