“I bow my head and apologise”: PM Modi on Shivaji statue collapse in Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he bow his head and apologise to the people of Maharashtra who were hurt by the collapse of the Shivaji statue at Sindhudurg.

While addressing a gathering at Malvan in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, the Prime Minister also criticised the opposition for not being apologetic as he extended his apologies for the incident.

“Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them. Our values are different. For us, nothing is bigger than our deity,” PM Modi said.

A 35-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the state’s Sindhudurg district collapsed on August 26.

The Prime Minister further targeted the opposition for “insulting and abusing the son of the land” Veer Savarkar while adding that his “values” are different.

“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name for us. Today I bow my head and apologise to my God Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 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 apologize, they are ready to go to the courts and fight,” he added.

PM Modi earlier laid the foundation stone of Vadhvan Port in Palghar, Maharashtra. The total cost of this project is around Rs 76,000 crores. He also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of 218 fisheries projects worth around Rs 1,560 crores during the event.

Earlier, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the state government is taking decisions on a war-footing for the reconstruction of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and two committees have been formed including that to investigate the collapse of the statue in Malvan area of the state.