Nationalist Congress Get together (Sharad Pawar faction) supremo Sharad Pawar and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray led a march of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) on Sunday from Hutatma Chowk to the Gateway of India in south Mumbai in a present of unity and defiance. The protest was sparked by the latest collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district, a mishap that has stirred vital political controversy.
The statue, which was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Navy Day, 4 December 2023, fell on 26 August 2024 at Rajkot Fort in Malvan tehsil, situated roughly 480 kilometres from Mumbai. This incident has led to extreme criticism of each the Union and state governments by the opposition.
Addressing a gathering on the Gateway of India, the place the protest march culminated, Uddhav Thackeray criticised Prime Minister Modi’s apology, stating, “Did you discover the conceitedness within the Prime Minister’s apology? It smacked of conceitedness. One deputy chief minister was smiling. The error (collapse) can’t be forgiven. We’ve got all gathered right here to demand ‘BJP get out of India’,” as quoted by information company PTI.
Thackeray additional asserted that the individuals of Maharashtra would by no means forgive the insult to the legendary Maratha warrior king, citing the statue’s collapse, leakages within the Ram Temple, and points within the new Parliament advanced to mock Modi’s ensures. “For what was the PM apologising? For the statue he inaugurated eight months in the past? For the corruption concerned? The MVA cadre should work collectively to defeat the forces which have insulted Shivaji Maharaj. The collapse of the statue is an insult to the soul of Maharashtra,” he asserted.
Prime Minister Modi, throughout an handle in Palghar on Friday, had said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not only a reputation or a king however a deity. At present, I bow my head at his toes and apologise to my deity.”
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Sharad Pawar, Nana Patole At ‘Jode Maro Andolan’
Sharad Pawar, talking on the protest march, termed the collapse of the statue as a obvious instance of corruption. “It’s an insult to all Shiv premis (followers of the warrior king),” he said. Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole echoed these sentiments, stating, “A lot earlier than the PM, the opposition had sought forgiveness from the emperor for permitting such a Shiv drohi (these betraying the ideas of Chhatrapati Shivaji) authorities to come back to energy. We’ve got taken a pledge to by no means let it occur once more,” he mentioned, including that the PM Modi’s apology was strategically timed with a watch on the upcoming state polls.
The agitation, dubbed the ‘jode maro andolan’ (hitting with slippers), noticed Thackeray becoming a member of Shiv Sena (UBT) and Congress leaders in hitting a poster of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar with footwear.
जोडे मारा आंदोलन! pic.twitter.com/Ol2xUn2aFK
— ShivSena – शिवसेना Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (@ShivSenaUBT_) September 1, 2024
Kolhapur Congress MP Shahu Chhatrapati, a descendant of the emperor, emphasised the significance of sustaining the dignity of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in any respect prices.
The protest march, which commenced shortly after 11 am and concluded at midday, was marked by the presence of a number of outstanding leaders, together with NCP (SP) Baramati MP Supriya Sule and MLA Anil Deshmukh. A bust of the legendary warrior king was positioned at Hutatma Chowk, whereas contributors carried placards denouncing the statue’s collapse and shouted slogans towards the Eknath Shinde authorities. Pawar walked a part of the way in which earlier than entering into his automobile because the march progressed.