At Sangli Rally, Rahul Gandhi questions PM Modi’s apology for Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse

Rahul Gandhi questions PM Modi's apology for Shivaji Maharaj statue collapse, speculates on possible reasons, meets with Congress leaders.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Thursday (September 5, 2024) said that he wanted to know the reason why Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to apologise to the 17th-century Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj for the collapse of his statue.

Taking a jibe at Mr. Modi, the Congress leader said that an apology is only necessary when a mistake has been made. “If there’s no mistake, there’s no need to apologise. PM Modi recently apologised for the collapse of the Shivaji Maharaj statue. Why did he apologise?” he asked while addressing a rally in Maharashtra’s Sangli district, where, along with party president Mallikarjun Kharge, he unveiled a statue of the late Minister and Bharati Vidyapeeth founder, Patangrao Kadam.

Mr. Gandhi further speculated on the reasons behind the apology, stating, “There could be three main reasons: first, the contract was awarded to an RSS affiliate; second, corruption in the construction process; and third, while they built the statue, they failed to ensure it remained standing.”

He added that Mr. Modi should apologise not only to Shivaji Maharaj but also to every person in Maharashtra for the statue’s collapse.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was notably absent from the public meeting. The event saw the presence of Nationalist Congress Party (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, NCP State unit chief Jayant Patil, and senior Congress leaders from Maharashtra. However, Mr. Thackeray and other Shiv Sena (UBT) leaders were absent.

Last week, MLA Vishwajit Kadam, son of the late Patangrao Kadam, told The Hindu that Mr. Thackeray had not confirmed his participation due to prior commitments. “I personally invited him to the event,” he said.

The absence is noteworthy, especially considering that in the last Lok Sabha election, the Shiv Sena (UBT) candidate was defeated in the Sangli constituency by Congress rebel Vishal Patil, who is now an associate member of Congress in the Lok Sabha.