PM should clarify why he apologised for statue collapse: Rahul Gandhi

Mumbai: Leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday trained his guns on prime minister Narendra Modi over the collapse of the statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Malvan. The prime minister should clarify the reason for which he apologised for the incident, he said, wondering if the apology was tendered for allowing corruption or giving the contract to someone connected with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) who did not have the merit or some other reason.

“Shivaji is probably the biggest ‘Mahapurush’ of the country. His statue fell down within days because of corruption and allotting the contract to a wrong person,” Gandhi said while inaugurating a life-size statue of the late Congress leader Patangrao Kadam at his native village Palus-Kadegaon in Sangli district.

“I want to know the real reason behind PM Modi’s apology,” Gandhi said at the event, flanked by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar and other senior Congress leaders. He said the prime minister should tender an apology to every person in Maharashtra for the incident.

Speculating on the reasons behind Modi’s apology, he said, “First one would be that the contract was given to someone connected with the RSS when it should have been given on the basis of merit. Another reason could be that there was corruption during construction of the statue and the people of Maharashtra were cheated. A third possible reason is that the government completely overlooked the project, leading to the collapse incident.”

The 35-feet statue of Shivaji at Rajkot fort in Malvan, inaugurated by Modi on December 4 last year, collapsed on August 26, sparking a huge political row and triggering a backlash against the BJP-led ruling alliance. On August 30, Modi tendered an apology for the incident while laying the foundation stone for Vadhvan port in Palghar district. “For me and my colleagues, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not merely a name or a king, but a deity. Today, I bow my head, place it at his feet, and apologise,” Modi had said on the occasion.

During Thursday’s speech, Gandhi also said that the Congress’ ideology is in the DNA of Maharashtra and accused the BJP of working for the benefit of a select few.

“Earlier, there used to be politics. But today, an ideological fight is underway in the country. We want social progress, but they (BJP) want only a select few to get all the benefits,” he alleged.

Thackeray skips event

Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders including party chief Uddhav Thackeray chose to skip Thursday’s event in Sangli despite being invited, indicating they were still unhappy with Congress leaders in Sangli for the events that transpired during the Lok Sabha polls earlier this year.

Thackeray had, in the run up to the polls, unilaterally declared Chandrahar Patil as the candidate for Sangli although it was the Congress’ traditional seat and the party was keen to field Vishal Patil, grandson of former chief minister and party stalwart Vasantdada Patil. The announcement led to Vishal Patil’s rebellion and he contested the polls as an independent, with support from the Sangli Congress unit. Vishal Patil eventually won the seat, defeating the incumbent BJP MP Sanjaykaka Patil by over one lakh votes, while the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate finished a poor third.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sanjay Raut, however, said that the party chief was not upset and there was no politics behind his decision to stay away from Thursday’s event.

“He had pre-scheduled events and meetings, and therefore he could not attend the Sangli function,” Raut said.