No amount of money spent in Shivaji’s honour is enough: Ministers

Countering allegations that government is spending Rs. 18 crore on publicity, PWD Minister says party is only fulfilling the wish of the people

December 23, 2016 12:41 am | Updated 03:06 am IST

Preparations on for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Girgaum Choupaty on Thursday. — Photo: Deepak Salvi

Preparations on for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Girgaum Choupaty on Thursday. — Photo: Deepak Salvi

Mumbai: Money is not of prime consideration for the Maharashtra government looking to build a memorial for warrior king Shivaji, senior State Cabinet ministers said on Thursday. Refuting the charge that the Rs. 3,600 crore expenditure on the statue off the Arabian Sea is a waste, they said no amount of money spent in the honour of Chattrapati Shivaji is enough (more or less).

“He (Shivaji) is our Maharaj and a jewel of the State. He is beyond politics and individual opinions on expenditure; no amount of money we spend is enough on him,” said senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Education Minister Vinod Tawde.

Rejecting the criticism that the government is spending Rs. 10 to Rs. 18 crore on the publicity of the event on December 24, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the memorial, Public Works Minister (PWD) Chandrakant Dada Patil said the party is only fulfilling the wish of the people of Maharashtra.

“Where is the question of wasteful expenditure. This (memorial) was the wish of crores of citizens of the State and the country, who wanted this site to be a pilgrimage. The two-day celebration beginning tomorrow is organised to celebrate the historic occasion,” said Mr. Patil. When asked what the State is doing for the dilapidated forts, the ministers said the government is doing enough to preserve the heritage of Shivaji. The Rs. 3,600-crore project has been facing stiff opposition from fisherfolk and environmentalists, who allege it will affect marine life and ecology of the Arabian Sea. An online petition on change.org has been signed by more than 10,000 people, urging the State government to stall the wasteful and needless expenditure on construction of the statue just for political gains.

Art director Nitin Desai, managing the mega event, said in its sheer scale and size, the project is his finest work ever. “There is a larger-than-life touch to this emotional event. I have given it all my 35 years of art direction in depicting 45 years of Shivaji’s life. We will ensure that when people visit the memorial, it appeals to their deepest emotions,” he told The Hindu .

The two-day event will begin on Friday at Chembur, where a rally will be flagged off; representatives from districts will gather with collections of sand and soil from Shivaji’s forts across the State. The rally, led by a ‘Shivaji chariot’, will begin at Chembur and conclude at the Gateway of India, where Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will receive the soil urns. “These will then be handed over to the Prime Minister by the Chief Minister next day, and carried to the memorial site,” said Mr. Patil.

On December 24, the government is expecting 1.5 lakh people to attend the public function at BKC, and has already sent out invitation to as many as 3,000 VVIPs and dignitaries, including members of the royal family and Shivaji historians. “There will be a total of three stages at BKC, each occupied by members of the royal family, Maharashtra Cabinet, and Prime Minister, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, and the Chief Minister,” said Mr. Tawde.

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