Oppn says Shivaji statue height shrunk, Fadnavis denies

The Opposition Congress and NCP in Maharashtra on Wednesday accused the BJP-Shiv Sena saffron alliance government of reducing the height of grand statue of legendary Maratha warrior Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj proposed in the Arabian Sea.

However, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that the statue would be the tallest in the world. "I can assure you that the statue of Shivaji Maharaj would be the tallest in the world....we are starting the work now. In the last 15 years, you (Congress and NCP) could not lay a single brick," Fadnavis told the   Legislative Assembly.

Fadnavis's statement came after former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (both from Congress), former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and former Finance Minister Jayant Patil (both from NCP) charged the government with reducing the height of the statue.

Patil said that the statue's height has been shrunk from "160 metres to 126 metres", including the pedestal.

"The statue will be and remain 210 metres high. There is no need to create doubts. The issue is of our state's pride and identity," Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said.

This led to Opposition MLAs shouting slogans, demanding a discussion on the issue, and the House was adjourned for ten minutes.

Oppn walkout

When the House reassembled, Cultural Affairs Minister Vinod Tawde said that the height has not been reduced. However, Opposition members staged a walkout. 

Later, Fadnavis issued a clarification and said that there was no question of reducing the height. "What height was approved has been retained," he said.

The estimated cost of the project is Rs 2,500 crore and the contract has been awarded to construction and engineering major L&T.

In December 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the jal-poojan and bhoomi-poojan for the grand Shiv Smarak project.