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.
