The removal of the Shivaji statue in Bagalkot in Karnataka has provoked the ire of the Maharashtra government with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Minister for Cultural Affairs Sudhir Mungantiwar shooting off a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Saturday criticising the action and demanding the statue be re-installed while those responsible for its removal be punished.
Mr. Mungantiwar condemned the statue’s removal particularly as it had come when Maharashtra and the country were celebrating the 350th anniversary of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s coronation (in 1674).
“The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been removed from the square of Bagalkot in Karnataka. We demand the statue be installed again in the same place with dignity, and also that the government apologise for the incident and severely punish the persons responsible for this incident,” said the BJP leader in his letter.
“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is worshiped by the whole of India and he is the source of inspiration for Indian freedom. Also, not just Bagalkot, but most of Karnataka was under the rule of Shahaji Raje, father of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The Congress government of Karnataka should also be aware of the historical fact that Bangalore, the present capital of Karnataka, was founded and developed by Shahaji Raje,” said Mr. Mungantiwar, in a post on the micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter).
The statue at Bagalkot’s Sonar Extension had been dismantled on August 15 by the city municipal corporation and the district administration as it had allegedly been erected without permission.
The action sparked protests by the opposition BJP leaders, prompting the district administration to impose prohibitory orders.
The Maharashtra Congress, however, hit out at the ruling BJP, with Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar stating that the Bagalkot Shivaji statue was illegally constructed and that the BJP had no right to express moral outrage when it had allegedly supported its leaders insulting Shivaji and his son, Chhatrapati Sambhaji in the past.
