A 10.6m iron statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Dec 4 last year at Malvan Fort in Maharashtra, collapsed just nine months after its installation, reported NDTV.
The incident has ignited a political controversy, with opposition parties accusing the state government of insulting a respected king, as well as corruption and neglecting quality standards.
Built at a cost of Rs23.6 million ($280,000), the statue in Sindhudurg district collapsed on Aug 26 amid heavy monsoon rains.
It was built to honour the legacy of the Maratha Navy and Chhatrapati Shivaji towards maritime defence and security, and its historical linkage with the modern Indian Navy, reported the BBC.
Shivaji, formally crowned as Chhatrapati – “king” in Sanskrit – in 1674 at Raigad fort, ruled over a Maratha kingdom which included parts of western, central and southern India. He was seen as an astute leader who successfully made alliances with or militarily resisted the ruling powers of his time.
In recent years, he has become an increasingly central figure in Maharashtra’s politics and no political party can afford to ignore him or be accused of insulting him.
Marathas from Shivaji’s caste dominate the political landscape of the state – 12 of 20 chief ministers since the state’s formation have been Marathas.
So the statue’s collapse, weeks before elections are due in Maharashtra, has put the state’s ruling coalition on the back foot and given opposition parties a potent issue to raise.
It even drew an apology from Mr Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is part of Maharashtra’s ruling coalition, reported The Times of India.
“The moment I landed here, I first apologised to Shivaji over the statue collapse. I also apologise to the people who were hurt by the collapse,” PM Modi said in Maharashtra’s Palghar on Aug 30.
“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.”
The public works department said that rusting nuts and bolts posed a risk to the statue’s stability, yet the warnings were ignored.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance has accused the ruling government of corruption in the matter of the statue construction and demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Amid the raging controversy, Mr Shinde said he was ready to put his head on the Maratha warrior’s feet and apologise 100 times.
Senior opposition leader Sharad Pawar said during a protest rally that numerous statues of Shivaji across the state were still standing but only the newly installed one had collapsed.
“There was corruption in the process of installing the statue. This is an insult to Chhatrapati Maharaj,” he alleged.
Mr Shinde has denied the charges, saying the statue collapsed because of strong winds in the coastal town.
Mr Ashish Shelar, the BJP’s Mumbai chief, has also apologised publicly, saying the mistake will be rectified and the culprits will face punishment.
Police have arrested one person, the structural consultant on the project, and say they are on the lookout for the statue’s sculptor.
