PM Modi on Maharashtra statue collapse: 'Apologise to my god Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj'

Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised for the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg.

"...Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name for us... today I bow my head and apologise to my god Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Our values are different, we are not those people who keep abusing and insulting the great son of Mother India, the son of this land, Veer Savarkar. They are not ready to apologise, they are ready to go to the courts and fight. ..." said PM Modi in Palghar.

#WATCH | Palghar, Maharashtra: PM Narendra Modi speaks on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue collapse incident in MalvanHe says, "Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them. Our values are pic.twitter.com/oLaDLDaWbI
ANI (@ANI) August 30, 2024

The PM remembered how after the BJP named him as the prime ministerial candidate in 2013, he
sat before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's samadhi at Raigad "as a devotee" and started on a new journey. "Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them. Our values are different. For us, nothing is bigger than our deity...," said the PM.

PM Modi's comments come amid the controversy raging over the collapse of the 35-foot Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue collapsed on August 26. Chetan Patil, the structural consultant named in the FIR related to the collapse of the statue was arrested in Kolhapur, police said on Friday.

PM Modi visited Maharashtra on Friday and laid the foundation stone of the Vadhvan Port project worth around Rs 76,000 crore in Palghar, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). He also laid the foundation of 218 fisheries projects of Rs 1,560 crore in Palghar district.