Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | No use of bowing before Shivaji if you can't protect his ideology: Rahul Gandhi

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

Mumbai: Slamming the BJP-led Maha Yuti over the collapse of statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that there was no use bowing before the legendary Maratha warrior-king if you cannot protect his ideology.

“The BJP made a statue of Shivaji Maharaj…which broke and fell down within a few days. This was the message that if we make a statue of Shivaji Maharaj, then we will also have to protect his ideology,” Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in Kolhapur after unveiling a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. 

In his address, Gandhi paid rich tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and iconic social reformer Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj. 

“The BJP people fold their hands in front of Shivaji Maharaj's statue but work against his ideology 24 hours a day,” he said.

Gandhi’s statement was an apparent reference to the statement of  Prime Minister Narendra Modi apologising for the collapse of the statue in Malvan in Sindhudurg district - when the BJP-led Maha Yuti came under fire of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.

“We are committed to the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj and Shahu Maharaj….Shivaji Maharaj’s message to the world was that the country belongs to everyone,” Gandhi said in presence of Shahu Chhatrapati Maharaj, a descendent of Shivaji Maharaj and Shahu Maharaj, who is the Congress MP from Kolhapur.

In a scathing attack on BJP and its fountainhead RSS, Gandhi said: “Today there is a battle between two ideologies in India. One ideology protects the constitution, talks about equality and unity. This is the ideology of Shivaji Maharaj. The second ideology  is engaged in destroying the constitution. They scare and threaten people. The fight to save the Constitution is not something which is new.”

Gandhi said that the ideology of Shivaji Maharaj and thoughts of Shahu Maharaj reflects in the Constitution of India. 

“Next time when the BJP people come to you and say that they believe in Shivaji Maharaj, you ask them whether they protect the Constitution. Because if you do not protect the Constitution, there is no use in folding hands in front of the statue,” he said amid thunderous applause. 

“I have only one message for the Congress workers that your job is to protect the ideology of Shivaji Maharaj and the Constitution,” he said. 

AICC general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra Ramesh Chennithala, former Chief Ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Prithviraj Chavan, state Congress President Nana Patole, Congress Legislature Party leader Balasaheb Thorat, Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Assembly Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress group leader in Legislative Council Satej Bunty Patil, CWC invitee member and state Congress Working President Naseem Khan were present.