Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his apology on the collapse of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s statue, saying that the latter must have realised that it was a mistake to give contract of statue construction to a RSS functionary instead of giving it someone else on merit, and and that there was corruption in the project. 

Singling out Modi for his much-discussed apology over the collapse of Shivaji statue, Rahul questioned as to why the Prime Minister tendered apology. “The person who tenders an apology is the one who makes a mistake...  If you haven't done anything wrong, why would you apologise?," Rahul asked Modi, seeking reason for the latter's apology.

“There can be several reasons for seeking an apology. It may be that he came to know that the statute erection contract was given to a person who is associated with the RSS, when it should be awarded to a person on the basis of merit. The second reason may be that he realised there was corruption in the construction. It may also be that he failed to ensure that the statue remained intact,” Rahul said.

“If anything, the Prime Minister should have apologised for Chhatrapati Shivaji but also each and every person of Maharashtra,” Rahul said.

It may be recalled that on August 30, Modi apologised to Chhatrapati Shivaji whom he described as not just “a revered king or great personality but a deity”.

Speaking at a function after laying a foundation stone for Rs 76,000 crore  Vadhvan Port in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, Modi tendered his apology to the legendary Maratha king by saying: “Shivaji Maharaj is not merely a name, a revered king or a great personality but a deity”.

It may be recalled that after Shivaji statue’s collapse on August 26, there were massive protests by the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) at Malvan and different parts of the state. The Opposition MVA had demanded the resignations of chief minister Eknath Shinde and two deputy chief ministers Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

On August 28, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar apologised publicly to “13 crore people of the people of the state” over the collapse of the Shivaji statue.

However, on September 1 when they took out a  morcha from Hutatma Chowk to Gateway of India in south Mumbai following the collapse of Shivaji statue, the Opposition MVA leaders had rejected the apology tendered by Prime Minister Modi saying that it was a casual apology and could not be accepted.