Mumbai, October 05: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Sunday described the Congress-NCP government’s proposal to erect a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji in the sea
off Marine Drive, Mumbai, as “foolish”.
In an interview to his party organ Saamna, he said there was already a statue of Shivaji near Gateway of India which was close to the sea. His remarks came as a surprise considering that the Sena derives its inspiration from the Maratha warrior king.
However, Sena chief executive Uddhav Thackeray clarified that Balasaheb was not opposed to the project as such. He told TOI: “The Congress-NCP has been in power for the past 10 years. Why did it not implement the project? It announced it only on the eve of the assembly elections with an eye on votes. It is the non-serious attitude of this government which we find objectionable. It may be recalled that Balasaheb himself had inaugurated a huge statue of Shivaji Maharaj outside the air terminal at Sahar.”
Meanwhile, the politics of statues has taken a new turn with senior NCP leader Vijay Kamble demanding a memorial to Dalit champion Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Dadar at a cost of Rs 700 crore.
The Congress-NCP in its manifesto has touched upon this issue. But Kamble has got a commitment from senior leaders of these parties that the Ambedkar project will be implemented on top priority after the October 13 polls.
Kamble denied his demand was meant to counter the proposal for a Shivaji memorial off Marine Drive.-
–Agencies