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Chhatrapati Shivaji
Tension prevailed briefly during a Shivaji Jayanti procession here after stones were allegedly hurled at the rally, officials said on Friday. The incident occurred on Thursday in the old city when the procession, which began around 3:30 pm, was passing through the mosque area, they said. Superintendent of Police Siddharth Goyal said adequate forces were deployed for the procession. "We were all present at the spot. The procession began around 3:30 PM (yesterday), As it approached the mosque, two stones were thrown from a distance toward us," he said. According to the SP, based on preliminary information and videos reviewed by the police so far, one stone struck a police constable while the other fell on his shoulder. "No one sustained any major injuries. After that, the procession continued smoothly, and the atmosphere remained peaceful," Goyal said. Police said adequate security arrangements have been made in view of the procession and the situation remained under control. "Th
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Sunetra Pawar paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj on his birth anniversary at the Shivneri Fort in Pune on Thursday. The Maratha warrior king was born in Shivneri, located in Junnar tehsil of Pune district, in 1630. Fadnavis and his deputies attended various programmes, including the 'cradle ceremony', symbolising the legendary king's birth and naming rituals, at Shivneri. A large number of followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj gathered at the fort to take part in his birth anniversary celebration. Earlier in the day, three persons were injured after being pushed at the fort amid overcrowding during the celebration, police said.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said the people still praising Aurangzeb are "traitors", noting the Mughal emperor had sought to conquer the state and committed various atrocities. On the other hand, Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was the "divine force" who stood for valour, sacrifice and the spirit of Hindutva, Shinde said on Monday night on the occasion of 'Shiv Jayanti'. The Shiv Sena head was speaking at the unveiling of an equestrian statue of Shivaji Maharaj at Gharda Chowk in Dombivli area of Thane district, installed to honour the legacy of the Maratha king, his courage and leadership. His remarks come amid demands from some right-wing outfits for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb located in the state's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. Notably, violence erupted in central Nagpur on Monday following rumours that the holy book of a community was burnt during an agitation by a right-wing body for the removal of Aurangzeb's tomb. Speaking at the
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday accused the BJP of poisoning society and asked his supporters to respond to the ruling party's favoured 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan with 'Jai Shivaji' and Jai Bhavani'. Addressing Sena (UBT) workers in the eastern suburb of Mulund, bordering Thane, he also drew a comparison between the current BJP-led regime and Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler. If anyone says Jai Shri Ram, do not let the person leave without making sure that he says Jai Shivaji and Jai Bhavani. The BJP has poisoned our society. I am going to give the BJP a tough time for what they have done to our society, he said. Thackeray also questioned the BJP's commitment to the country, pointing to its stance on international sports events. He said that the BJP previously opposed sporting events with Pakistan, yet India now engages in cricket matches with both Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Sena (UBT) chief also responded to Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's recent j
Police have arrested a fabricator of the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that recently collapsed at a fort in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, triggering a huge political row, an official said on Friday. Fabricator Parmeshwar Ramnaresh Yadav, who was arrested from Uttar Pradesh, had used substandard material while shaping the 35-foot-tall statue of the Maratha warrior king, he said. A resident of Mirzapur in UP, Yadav was taken into custody on Thursday after his role in the statue collapse came to light, the official said. Yadav had been tasked with creating the Shivaji statue by welding separate parts, he said. Police said the fabricator used inferior material to form the structure and did not join the parts properly through welding. During a technical analysis, it was found that the collapsed steel statue had rusted in some places, indicating the use of low-quality material, he said. After his role in the case was established, Yadav was also made an accused and was ...
A local court in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district on Thursday remanded sculptor-contractor Jaydeep Apte and structural consultant Chetan Patil, held over the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue, in police custody till September 10. While Patil was arrested on August 30 from Kolhapur, Apte was taken into custody on Wednesday night from Kalyan in Thane district, nearly 10 days after an FIR was registered in connection with the incident. A 35-foot statue of the iconic Maratha warrior king collapsed at the Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of the district on August 26, nearly nine months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled it. Patil and Apte were produced before a court in Malvan where the police sought their custody for interrogation. The court remanded them in police custody till September 10. Apte's advocate Ganesh Sovani said the sculptor had intended to surrender on Wednesday night and that he was willing to cooperate with the probe. He is willing to submit to t
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve on Friday targeted the Maharashtra government over the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj's statue and asked Chief Minister Eknath Shinde whether a scientific study was carried out before deciding the specifics of the statue like its height. He also sought to know if a specific height of the statue was maintained to fulfil the political ambitions of someone. A political row has erupted after the 35-foot statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, built at Rajkot fort in Malvan tehsil of coastal Sindhudurg district, collapsed on August 26. The Maharashtra government has set up a technical committee comprising engineers, IIT experts and Navy officials to probe the reasons behind the statue collapse. Police have arrested Chetan Patil, the structural consultant named in the FIR along with artist Jaydeep Apte, from Kolhapur. Questioning the government over the issue, Danve, who is the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council, said in a post on X,
Chetan Patil, the structural consultant named in the FIR registered in connection with the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue in Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, has been arrested from Kolhapur, police said on Friday. Patil was taken into custody late on Thursday night and was handed over to the Sindhudurg police for further investigation, said Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit. According to the Sindhudurg police, Patil has been arrested in the case. Patil, a resident of Kolhapur, had claimed on Wednesday that he was not the structural consultant for the project. Speaking to the Marathi news channel ABP Majha, Patil, named in the FIR along with artist Jaydeep Apte, had said that he had submitted the design of the platform to the Indian Navy through the state's Public Works Department (PWD) but had nothing to do with the statue itself. A Thane-based company did the statue-related work. I was just asked to work on the platform on which the statue was
The Ajit Pawar-led NCP, which is part of the Maharashtra government, on Thursday staged silent protests across the state over the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj's statue and demanded action against those responsible, while the party's state chief asserted that everyone has the right to agitate. The 35-foot statue of the 17th century Maratha empire founder installed at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg's Malvan tehsil collapsed on August 26, nearly nine months after it was unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The incident has snowballed into a major political controversy with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) targeting the Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government over it. The opposition leaders on Wednesday announced that on September 1, the MVA will take out a protest march in Mumbai against the statue collapse, while the ruling NCP also said it would stage silent protests in every district and tehsil of the state on Thursday and demand the installation of a stronger and larger statue o
A statue of Maratha warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, unveiled by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a fort in Maharashtra's coastal Sindhudurg district just eight months ago, collapsed on Monday, an official said, with the chief minister blaming "strong winds" for the cave in. As the incident caused an embarrassment to the state government and invited scathing criticism from the opposition, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde vowed to rebuild the structure, which he said, was designed and constructed by the Indian Navy. Asked about the collapse, Shinde told PTI, "The wind was blowing at a speed of 45km per hour, which caused the statue to fall. It is very unfortunate the statue has fallen as it was designed and built by the Navy. However, our guardian minister (Ravindra Chavan) has arrived at the spot to assess the situation, and we will rebuild this statue even stronger. Navy officials will also take part in the rebuilding efforts." Public Works Department (PWD) personnel will visit
The Congress on Friday alleged that statues of Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji among others have been relocated within Parliament premises to ensure that Opposition parties cannot hold democratic protests, and said such "stunts" cannot save Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "unstable government" from falling. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh termed the Lok Sabha secretariat's explanation for relocating the statues as "wholly bogus", and said there has been no discussion with any political party on the matter. In a statement, the Lok Sabha Secretariat said Thursday that due to their location at different places in the Parliament premises, visitors were not able to see these statues conveniently. "For this reason, all these statues are being respectfully installed in a grand 'Prerna Sthal' in Parliament House premises. This 'Prerna Sthal' is being developed in such a way that the visitors coming to visit the Parliament complex view the statues of these great
Statues of Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji, among others, have been relocated within the Parliament premises as part of a landscaping exercise, a move that drew sharp criticism from the Congress on Thursday. The statues of tribal leader Birsa Munda and Maharana Pratap have also been shifted to a lawn between old Parliament building and the Parliament library. All statues are now in the same place. Reacting to the development, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said on X, "Statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Gandhi, and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar have just been removed from their places of prominence in front of the Parliament House. This is atrocious." Attacking the BJP, Congress's media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said when Maharashtra voters did not vote for BJP, the statues of Shivaji and Ambedkar were removed from their original place in Parliament. When they did not get clean sweep in Gujarat, they removed the statue of Mahatma