Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, saying there is no justification for bowing before Shivaji Maharaj by scaring people and destroying the country’s Constitution and institutions. He also alleged that the statue of Shivaji Maharaj fell in Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra because the intentions and ideology of the people in power were wrong. Rahul Gandhi unveiled the statue of Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire, in Kolhapur city in western Maharashtra.
Gandhi said, “There is no justification for bowing before Shivaji Maharaj after terrorizing the people and destroying the Constitution and institutions of the country. The Congress leader’s comments were clearly targeted at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had apologized to Shivaji Maharaj and the people hurt by the collapse of his statue. Prime Minister Modi had said during his visit to Maharashtra on August 30, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a king. For us he is our idol. Today I place my head at his feet and seek forgiveness from my beloved.”
Prime Minister Modi had unveiled the 35-feet high statue at Rajkot Fort on the occasion of Navy Day on December 4, 2023. This statue collapsed on August 26 this year. Rahul Gandhi said, “There are two ideologies in the country. One that protects the Constitution, talks about equality and unity. This is the ideology of Shivaji Maharaj. The second ideology is the one which is bent on destroying the Constitution.
The Congress leader said, “They wake up in the morning and plan how to destroy the Constitution established on the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj. They attack the institutions of the country, intimidate and threaten the people and then bow their heads before the statue of Shivaji. There is no justification for this. If you pray in front of Shivaji’s statue, you have to protect the Constitution.” He said the intentions are clear and cannot be hidden.
Gandhi said, “He (Modi) installed the statue of Shivaji Maharaj, which fell within a few days. His intentions were not right. The statue gave him the message that if you install the statue of Shivaji Maharaj, you will have to follow his ideals. That is why the statue fell, because their ideology is wrong.” He said that when Shivaji Maharaj was to be coronated, this ideology did not allow his coronation to take place. This is not a new thing.
The former Congress president said, “This is the same ideology with which Shivaji Maharaj fought. Congress is fighting with the same ideology with which Shivaji Maharaj fought. He said that Chhatrapati Shivaji’s message to the world was that the country belongs to everyone. The Constitution is a symbol of his ideals. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said, “If there were no people like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and social reformer Shahu Maharaj, the Constitution would not have come into existence.” Top leaders of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress welcomed Gandhi when he reached Kolhapur on Saturday morning. Which included the party’s state unit chief Nana Patole and former minister Balasaheb Thorat. Rahul Gandhi interacted with tempo driver Ajit Sandhi. Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers protested and showed black flags to Rahul over his remarks on freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar.