MVA leaders Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and Nana Patole lead the protest march from Hutatma Chowk to the Gateway of India on Sunday

MAHARASHTRA: NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Sunday said the opposition won’t sit quietly till the Mahayuti dispensation in Maharashtra is dislodged from power in the next two months and a new government is formed on the ideals of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Addressing party workers at Ghatkopar in Mumbai, Pawar slammed the state government over the collapse of the statue of the legendary warrior king in Sindhudurg district on August 26.
He said those in power in the state have no “faith” in Shivaji Maharaj. The ruling Mahayuti comprises BJP, Eknath Shindeled Shiv Sena and NCP headed by Ajit Pawar. “I assure you (party workers) that if you show your unity, then we will not sit quietly till the government in Maharashtra is changed in the next two months and a new government is formed on the ideals of Shivaji Maharaj that will safeguard the interests of people,” Pawar said.
The collapse of the 35-foot Shivaji statue in Malvan tehsil has triggered a firestorm in the state, with the oppositiontargeting the Mahayuti for “corruption” and “insult” to the icon. Besides chief minister Eknath Shinde and other state leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also apologised over the incident.
Pawar said there are allegations of corruption while constructing the statue but he has no evidence. “But how does a statue collapse? This means the quality of the statue deteriorated. Shivaji had never been insulted the way he was under this government,” Pawar said. The NCP (SP) chief said “wrong and corrupt decisions” were taken while constructing the statue.