Shiv Sena, BJP unnecessary taking credit for Shivaji statue: Congress

The Congress party on Saturday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Shiv Sena government in Maharashtra is taking unnecessary credit for the proposed construction of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji on an island located on the Arabian Sea off the Mumbai coast.

The grand old party claimed credit for the proposal.

"Actually, Congress envisioned the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji. I don't know why they (Shiv Sena and BJP) are taking the credit for it. They are just following what the Congress party planned to do and there is nothing new in their approach," Congress leader Husain Dalwai said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will fly down to Mumbai to lay the foundation stone for a Rs.3,600 crore memorial for Chhatrapati Shivaji, the much-celebrated 17th century ruler of the Maratha empire.

The 192-metre-tall structure will be twice as high as the Statue of Liberty and will come up on 15 hectares of reclaimed land in the Arabian sea, some 3.5 kilometres away from Mumbai.

"Shiv Smarak (the memorial) in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai coast, will be the tallest memorial not only in the country, but in the entire world," Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, proudly said on December 20.

The Maharashtra government will fund the entire project and has already set aside Rs. 2,300 crore for the first phase of construction.

Earlier, a group of marine conservationists and fishermen, too, had filed a petition with India's National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking to stop the state government from constructing the project.