Kolhapur, Oct 5, 2024
Targetting the MahaYuti government in Maharashtra for the second time in a month, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said on Sunday that there is no point in bowing before the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj if one cannot protect his legacy.
Referring to the embarrassing crash of the Chhatrapati’s statue at Fort Rajkot in Sindhudurg, he pointed fingers at the Bharatiya Janata Party-MahaYuti for the circumstances leading to the disaster, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi subsequently tendered a public apology during a visit to state on August 30.
“The BJP had built a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj… But it broke and fell down soon (in barely eight months). If you make a statue of the Chhatrapati, then you should also protect his ideology,” declared Rahul Gandhi.
He was speaking after unveiling an imposing 12-foot tall bronze statue of the legendary Maratha warrior king on a high pedestal at Kasba Bawada, displaying multiple weapons he used to carry.
The Leader of the Opposition said that the BJP people bend or fold their hands before Chhatrapati’s statue daily but keep working against his ideology all the time, amid thunderous applause.
Drawing historical parallels, Rahul Gandhi said that the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj are reflected in the Constitution of India architected by B. R. Ambedkar.
“Today, we are witnessing a battle between two ideologies in the country. One is to protect the Constitution, propagate unity, and equality and uphold the legacy of the Chhatrapati, while the other which is bent upon destroying the same Constitution, intimidating and threatening the people… The struggle to save the Constitution is not new and must continue,” he exhorted.
Taking a jibe at the ruling alliance, Rahul Gandhi urged the people that “next time, when the BJP people approach you and utter Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s name, you ask them whether they will safeguard the Constitution.”
Unless they are committed to protecting the Constitution, it’s useless to invoke the Chhatrapati’s name and bow before him, added the Congress LOP to a tumultuous roar of approval from the gathering.
Rahul Gandhi advised the Congress activists that “your job is to save the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and protect the Constitution” as his message to the world was that the country belongs to all.
Rahul Gandhi also paid his homage at the Samadhi of the revered Chhatrapati Rajarshi Sahu Maharaj, along with his heir, the Kolhapur Congress MP Chhatrapati Shrimant Shahu Maharaj.
He said that the Congress is committed to the ideals, teachings and legacy of both the Chhatrapatis and would defend them at all costs for all the deprived sections of people in the country.
Present on the occasion were the Kolhapur MP Chhatrapati Shrimant Shahu Maharaj, state Congress President Nana F. Patole, Leader of Opposition Vijay Wadettiwar, senior leaders like Balasaheb Thorat, MLC Satej D. Bunty Patil, other dignitaries, and people from Kolhapur.(Agency)
