MUMBAI: The Mumbai police have tightened security in the area in response to the Maha Vikas Aghadi’s (MVA) call for a protest march following the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue.
The MVA will hold a protest march from Hutatma Chowk to the Gateway of India on Sunday. Police and other security personnel have been deployed throughout the city.
A 35-foot-tall statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg district collapsed on August 26. It had been unveiled on December 4 last year as part of Navy Day celebrations, which were held in Sindhudurg for the first time.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray criticised the BJP-led Mahayuti government over the statue’s collapse at Rajkot Fort last month.
Youth Congress leaders and other party workers were detained by Mumbai police on Friday while protesting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the city, demanding a public apology from him over the collapse of the statue.
Modi said he bowed his head and apologised to the people of Maharashtra who were hurt by the collapse of the statue.
“Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them. Our values are different. For us, nothing is bigger than our deity,” the PM said.
Earlier, Chetan Patil, the structural consultant of the statue, was arrested from Kolhapur.