‘What is PM Modi sorry for?’ asks Rahul Gandhi as NDA govt faces criticism over Shivaji statue collapse in Maharashtra

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said Thursday that PM Narendra Modi should apologise to everyone in Maharashtra for the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Sindhudurg district. A 35-foot statue of the iconic Maratha warrior king, Shivaji Maharaj, collapsed at the Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of the district on August 26, nearly nine months after PM Narendra Modi unveiled it.

Speaking at a public meeting in Sangli, Rahul Gandhi asked “what is PM Modi apologising for?" "…is it because the contract to make the Shivaji statue was given to an RSS person who had no merit, or for the corruption in the process, or for disrespecting Shivaji Maharaj," Rahul Gandhi said. He said PM Modi should also apologise to the country for demonetisation, anti-farmer bills and GST.

The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP coalition government in Maharashtra has come under fire over the collapse of the statue last month; the prime minister during his subsequent visit to the state said he apologised to the iconic king, his "deity", and also the people whose sentiments were hurt.

Leveraging this incident, Congress leaders launched a scathing attack on the NDA-ruled government in Maharashtra, sparking a political row.

“Whatever the reason, the prime minister and the BJP are criminals of entire Maharashtra along with Shivaji Maharaj - they should apologise to every resident of the state for their behavior and corruption,” he said.

The Sangli event was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leaders Sushilkumar Shinde and Prithviraj Chavan, and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar. But ally Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray was conspicuous by his absence.

“PM Modi should answer why all contracts are given only to Adani and Ambani and why he was running the government only for two people,” Rahul Gandhi further said.

"Forgiveness is asked for when you make a mistake," the Congress leader added.

(With agency inputs)