PM Modi apologises for Shivaji statue collapse

New Delhi, August 30

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised for the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s statue at Sindhudurg in Maharashtra.

Speaking at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the ~76,000-crore Vadhvan Port at Palghar in Maharashtra, Modi said: “‘Shivaji Maharaj’ was not merely a king or a great personality. He was like a ‘god’ to me”.

“The moment I landed here, I first apologised to Shivaji over the statue collapse. I also apologise to people who were hurt by the collapse of the statue,” Modi said.

Rs 76,000 cr for Vadhvan Port

We have earmarked ~76,000 crore for the Vadhvan project. This will be the largest container port in the country. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister

The 35-foot tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji collapsed after a spate of rain in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg on August 26. Inaugurated by Modi in December last year on the occasion of Navy Day, the statue was installed to honour the Maratha king, who built a fort in the area to prevent incursions by seafaring adventurers from Europe.

With Assembly elections just around the corner in Maharashtra, the collapse of the statue of Shivaji, who enjoys iconic status in the state, was taken up in a big way by the Opposition parties. They accused the BJP-Shiv Sena government of indulging in corruption in the construction of the statue.

As Modi undertook his tour of Maharashtra on Friday, the state Congress unit launched a protest against the state and central governments over the collapse of the statue at Sindhudurg. The Congress put up posters demanding an apology from the Prime Minister at various locations. The posters depicted the PM inaugurating the statue alongside another image showing the collapsed structure.

Modi on Friday also paid tributes to VD Savarkar, yet another Maharashtrian icon, in a bid to endear himself with the voters of the state.

Taking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the PM said: “Our values are different. We are not those people who keep abusing and insulting the great son of Mother India, the son of this land, Veer Savarkar. They are not ready to apologise. They will rather go to the court and fight,” Modi said.

Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, is fighting a criminal defamation case filed by VD Savarkar’s grandson, Satyaki Savarkar, for allegedly depicting the Hindutva ideologue in a wrong light during a speech in London. The PM said India required a new and advanced port for maritime trade, but the work in this direction did not start until 2016 when Devendra Fadnavis came to power in Maharashtra and it was decided to set up a port in Palghar.

Earlier, addressing the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, Modi said India’s financial sector regulators need to do more to curb cyber fraud.