Every Construction by BJP Falls Victim to Corruption: Akhilesh Yadav on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Statue Collapse

Lucknow: Samajwadi Party (SP) Chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Maharashtra, stating that every BJP construction project falls victim to corruption.

He added that the people of Maharashtra will respond to this by ousting the BJP government in the upcoming elections.

In a post on X, Akhilesh Yadav said, "Every construction undertaken by the BJP falls victim to corruption. The collapse of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister himself, is a highly unfortunate event. There should be a thorough investigation of all government and non-government individuals involved in its construction, and the strictest punitive action should be taken."

"This is an emotional blow not only to the people of Maharashtra but to the entire country. The people of Maharashtra will respond to such acts of BJP corruption by ousting the BJP government in the upcoming elections," he added in the post.

Earlier today, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde termed the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue at Rajkot Fort as "unfortunate" and announced that officials from PWD and the Navy will visit the site and investigate the cause behind it on August 27.

Shinde said that the statue fell and was damaged due to strong winds and added that the Maharashtra government will find out the reasons behind this incident and reinstall the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the same place.

"The incident that happened is unfortunate. This statue was erected by the Navy. They had also designed it. But due to strong winds of around 45 km/h, it fell and got damaged. Tomorrow, officials from PWD and the Navy will visit the site and investigate the cause behind it. I sent Public Works Minister Ravindra Chavan to the site as soon as I heard about the incident. We will find out the reasons behind this incident and reinstall the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the same place," Shinde said.

The collapsed statue was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Rajkot Fort, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra on December 4, 2023.

Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (SCP) MP Supriya Sule demanded action against the contractor, who built the statue.

In a post on X, Sule said, that, "The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj erected at the Rajkot Fort in Sindhudurg has collapsed today. The work of erecting this statue was assigned to a contractor from Thane district... We demand that this person and their organisation be blacklisted by all departments... A thorough investigation is essential to determine why the quality of this statue's work was so poor and to address other related issues."

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut meanwhile took a jab at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying, "The haste with which the statue was inaugurated keeping the Lok Sabha elections in mind, I feel that it was done in a very poor manner. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was insulted for elections and votes. The installation by Modi ji's hands shows that Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj did not want this." (