Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday condemned the removal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in Belagavi district of Karnataka and said all parties should come together to protest against the incident under the leadership of Maharashtra Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis.
Belagavi has a sizable Marathi-speaking population and has been the subject of a long boundary dispute between the two States. The border dispute is pending before the Supreme Court.
Talking to reporters, Mr. Raut said, “Mr. Fadnavis should be taken into confidence over the issue and we should all unite under his leadership to protest against the action of the Belgaum police.” The Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had on Saturday shot off a letter to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, seeking reinstatement of the statue of the Maratha warrior king.
Maharashtra Urban Development Minister Eknath Shinde, who is a close aide of Chief Minister Uddhav, had written the letter to Karnataka government, where the BJP is in power.
Mr. Shinde, who is also the minister in-charge for coordination on the Maharashtra-Karnataka border issue, said the statue was removed at Mangutti village. He said the statue had been installed with the permission of the gram panchayat, but the administration removed it deliberately.
Sena workers in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district, which borders Karnataka, held a series of protests over the issue on Saturday.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Ashish Shelar alleged that the local Congress MLA was responsible for the removal of the statue. “We condemn the incident of removal of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue. It should be restored with full respect. But will the Sena protest against the local Congress MLA who ordered the removal of the statue?” Mr. Shelar asked.
