Don’t do politics in the name of Shivaji Maharaj, Jarange tells Mahayuti govt, oppn

Mumbai: Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil on Sunday told the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government and the opposition led by Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) not to use Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s name for political one-upmanship and demanded strict punishment against those involved in insulting state and national icons.
Jarange visited the Rajkot Fort in Malvan, where a 35-foot statue of the 17th-century Maratha warrior king, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, collapsed on August 26. The incident caused outrage across the state, with PM Modi apologising for the event.
Jarange-Patil said that Modi should not be blamed for the incident of the collapse of the statue.
He also cautioned the political parties against using Shivaji Maharaj’s name for political advantage, otherwise, the people of Maharashtra will teach them a lesson in the upcoming state assembly elections.
On Sunday, the MVA leaders condemned the statue collapse incident by holding a march in Mumbai against the Mahayuti government. To counter the opposition parties, the BJP also held protests at various places in the state and blamed the MVA for politicising the issue.
“Someone asked me that the statue was unveiled by PM Modi, and yet it collapsed. But how is this Modi’s fault? I do not want any politicisation of this issue. Now, the focus should be on building a new and grand statue that’s durable,” said Jarange. He also demanded that the contractors, sculptors and others involved in the corruption which led to the statue collapse, should be sent to jail irrespective of their proximity to political leaders.