Tragic collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue, no reason to play politics over it: Fadnavis – India TV

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue was a tragic and unfortunate event and there was no need to politicise the issue.

“This is a deeply tragic event and no one should exploit it for political purposes,” says Fadnavis.

Speaking to reporters, Fadnavis urged a thorough investigation and assured that strict action would be taken against those responsible.

“The incident has already been reported to the police and they are expected to take further action based on the Navy's findings,” Fadnavis said.

“The construction work of the statue was supervised by the Navy rather than the state government. The people responsible for making and installing the statue may have overlooked important local factors like high wind speeds and the quality of iron used,” Fadnavis added.

He also mentioned that a large statue will be constructed at the same spot in Malvan Tehsil in the coastal district, about 480 km from Mumbai.

The opposition attacked the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti coalition in the state over the toppling of the statue, accusing it of corruption and demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Referring to the opposition's attacks over the statue collapse, Fadnavis urged them not to view the tragedy through the prism of the upcoming Maharashtra elections as such tactics will not help Maharashtra.

“Corruption has no place here and it is surprising to hear such statements from opposition leaders,” he said.

A 35-foot-high statue of the 17th-century founder of the Maratha Empire, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg district on December 4 last year, collapsed on Monday afternoon.

(PTI inputs)