No use of bowing before Shivaji Maharaj after scaring people, destroying Constitution: Rahul

Kolhapur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday attacked the BJP government, saying there was no use in bowing before Shivaji Maharaj after scaring people, and destroying the Constitution and institutions in the country.

Gandhi on Saturday unveiled a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha empire, in Kolhapur city of western Maharashtra.

Addressing a public meeting before unveiling the statue, Gandhi slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the collapse of the statue of the warrior king at Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg district, and said the party's ideology is not right.

"There is no use of bowing before bowing before Shivaji Maharaj after scaring people, destroying the Constitution and institutions in the country," Gandhi said.

His comments were apparently targeted at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had apologised to Shivaji Maharaj and those hurt by the collapse of his statue. "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name or a king. For us, he is our deity. Today, I bow my head at his feet and apologise to my deity," Modi had said on August 30 during his visit to Maharashtra.

The 35-foot statue, which fell on August 26, was unveiled by the PM on December 4, 2023, on the occasion of Navy Day.

Gandhi said Chhatrapati Shivaji's message to the world was that the country belongs to everyone.

The Indian Constitution is a manifestation of what the warrior king stood for, he said.

If people like Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Shahu Maharaj were not there, the Constitution also would not have been there, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.