Maharashtra polls: Sena (UBT), Fadnavis duel over Shivaji statue issue | Mumbai news

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena (UBT) and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis are locked in a war of words, each one vying to champion Maratha pride ahead of the assembly elections in the state. On Wednesday, Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut attacked Fadnavis, who is also deputy chief minister, after the latter challenged Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on the idea of building temples of Chhatrapati Shivaji in every district in the state. “Why does Fadnavis harbour so much hatred for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Marathi people? His ancestors were in the service of the Mughals and traitors of Maharashtra,” said Raut.

Thackeray’s promise to build temples follows the collapse of a colossal statue of Maratha warrior king, Chhatrapati Shivaji, in Sindhudurg district in August this year. Inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December 2023, its collapse was attributed to alleged corruption in the BJP-led Mahayuti government and the use of substandard materials. Thackeray claimed that the government was racing against time to complete the statue so that Modi could inaugurate it.

While launching his campaign for the assembly elections, Thackeray repeated his resolve to build temples of Shivaji across Maharashtra, as a tribute to the revered 17th century Maratha king, if the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was voted to power. Fadnavis, however, gave the issue a twist, daring Thackeray to build a statue of Shivaji, first in Mumbra, a Muslim-dominated suburb near Thane.

On Wednesday, the Sena (UBT) came down heavily on Fadnavis, alleging that he had mocked the idea of building statues of Shivaji and insulting the Maratha king. “Fadnavis has insulted Shivaji Maharaj by opposing the idea of building temples. It seems he doesn’t know that there is already a huge statue of Shivaji Maharaj in Mumbra. His statements betray his anti-Marathi, anti-Maharashtra and anti-Shivaji Maharaj mindset,” said Raut.

BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye slammed Thackeray and Raut. “The statue collapsed incident was unfortunate and the Mahayuti government has taken action against the culprits. Still, Thackeray and Raut are politicising the issue. Uddhav Thackeray has never attended the birth anniversary (celebrations) of Shivaji Maharaj. Will he have the courage to build a temple in Mumbra?” said Upadhye.