Mumbai: Don’t reduce Shivaji memorial’s height, people of the state will not tolerate it, says NCP

Mumbai: Opposition Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) warned the government not to even think of reducing the height of the Shivaji statue at the international memorial in the Arabian sea off Raj Bhavan. Jayant Patil, NCP member in Assembly said if the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government reduces the height, people of the state will not tolerate it.

Patil, while raising the issue through an adjournment motion, said, “When I was Guardian Minister of Mumbai during the erstwhile Congress-NCP government, we had designed the layout of the Shivaji memorial, which will be highest in the world. But the BJP government is planning to reduce the height by 112 feet.”

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Patil said the BJP government has the right to change the memorial’s design but they should not reduce its height. “If you do it, Marathi manoos (men) in this state will not forgive you,” warned Patil. Ajit Pawar, legislative party leader of NCP too warned the  government over the Shivaji memorial issue. “You came to power by using the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji. Now, you cannot play with the model plan of Shivaji memorial,” said Pawar.

Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, leader of opposition and Ganpatrao Deshmukh, senior member of Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) participated in the debate. In his reply, Sudhir Mungantiwar, minister for finance and planning, assured the Assembly that the height of the Shivaji memorial will not be reduced.