Aditya Thackeray, Kamal Nath unveil statue of Shivaji in MP’s Pandhurna

Shiva Sena (UTB) leader Aditya Thackeray, along with Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath, on Friday unveiled a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Chhindwara block of the state’s Pandhurna district.

Pandhurna has a sizeable population of Maharashtrians.

“The equestrian statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was unveiled at Pandhurna, Chhindwara in Madhya Pradesh by former chief minister Kamal Nath today. Attended this ceremony and saluted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj by offering a floral wreath,” Thackeray wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“We consider the place sacred and take inspiration from him (Shivaji) to save our country from dictatorship. There is an atmosphere of change in Madhya Pradesh today,” he added. Thackrey further said he wanted to see Kamal Nath as chief minister of MP.

Addressing the public at MPL ground in Pandhurna, Thackrey, who gave his speech in Marathi, said: “I have come to ask Kamal Nath what is the time and date of the swearing-in ceremony. I want to see you back on the CM’s chair. I want to see you there for the sake of Madhya Pradesh and its people.”

“Kamal Nath ji considers everyone as his own. When I was a minister, we had a government in Maharashtra. and I used to get calls from him. This is relationship and love,” Thackrey added.

Thackeray attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government in Madhya Pradesh over the issue of inflation. He raised question over gas, petrol and diesel prices before 2014 and that of now. He also termed Eknath Shinde as an “illegal chief minister of Maharashtra”, who assumed the chair in June last year with support from the BJP.

Addressing the people, Kamal Nath said this alliance was not new. He recalled the time he spoke to Sanjay Gandhi during the emergency, who advised him to meet Balasaheb Thackeray for support. “Our bond is very old,” added Kamal Nath.

With this programme, Congress is eying on Maharashtrian voters of nine districts – Khargone, Barwani, Betul, Khandwa, Chhindwara, Seoni, Balaghat, Alirajpur and Burhanpur, located at the Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh border.

Along with Kamal Nath, his son and MP Nakul Nath, MLA Sunil Kedar, MP Shiv Sena state chief Sunil Sharma, Nagpur Metropolitan Liaison chief Dushyant Chaturvedi, spokesperson Anand Dubey, secretary Suraj Chavan, local MLA Nilesh Uike were present on this occasion.

Meanwhile, MP chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan attacked the Congress saying that Kamal Nath did not allow Chhatrapati Shivaji’s statue to be installed in Sausar and that he had done the work of insulting Chhatrapati Shivaji.

“Those who are fake and seasonal Hindus are now installing the statue of Shivaji. Kamal Nath is a perfect example of how a fake face should be revealed and the real face should remain hidden,” Chouhan said.