‘Who took commission?’: Sanjay Raut's curt query over Shivaji statue collapse

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Thursday alleged that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg collapsed because of corruption during its construction. He wondered who received the commission from contractors. He also demanded the resignation of deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar over the massive controversy.

"There has been corruption, this is a very serious issue. The statue collapsed due to this (corruption). Who has taken how much commission? Ajit Pawar has said that he will do agitation... What will be achieved through it? He should resign," he said.

The statue of the Maratha warrior-king at Fort Rajkot in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg collapsed earlier this week.

The Maharashtra government said the statue collapsed because of high windspeed.

Also read: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse: FIR filed against contractor Jaydeep Apte

Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said earlier this week that the statue was constructed under the supervision of the Indian Navy. He said those supervising the construction of the statue might not have taken the weather conditions into account.

He promised that the state government would construct a bigger statue at the same spot.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday, a structural engineer who was named in the FIR claimed he wasn't the structural consultant and had worked only on the platform.

Also read: Ugly clash over Shivaji statue; Navy was in ‘great hurry’ to complete job, says PWD

“A Thane-based company did the statue-related work. I was just asked to work on the platform on which the statue was being erected,” Chetan Patil told ABP.

The 35-foot statue had been unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December last year.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared a video of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru inaugurating a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at Pratapgad on November 30, 1957.

"67 years later, the statue still stands tall and undamaged," he said in a jibe at the BJP.

With inputs from PTI, ANI