Pawar condemns vandalisation of Gadkari bust

NCP chief Sharad Pawar today condemned the vandalisation of a bust of Marathi playwright and humorist Ram Ganesh Gadkari at a civic park in Pune by a pro-Maratha organisation.
"It needs to be condemned. Battle of thoughts should be fought only with thought. I have not come across any such writing (as alleged by those who vandalised the bust) by Gadkari," he said, speaking to reporters here.
The bust was knocked down and taken away in the wee hours yesterday before the police recovered it today.
Sambhaji Brigade, a pro-Maratha group, claimed responsibility for the act, saying it was done in retaliation for the "poor portrayal" of King Shivaji's son Sambhaji in a play written by Gadkari.

About the off-shore memorial of Shivaji in Mumbai, which is estimated to cost Rs 3,600 crore, Pawar said his party welcomed the plan to build a memorial, but it should be considered how much money is to be spent on it.
"We (when NCP-Congress were in power) had made provision of Rs 100 crore for the same, but the present memorial is going to cost thousands of crores," he said.