Speaking at a function, Shinde said, “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is our deity and we govern in his name. Such incidents pain me. As a CM, I am ready to apologise one lakh times. We don’t want to politicise the issue and will erect another statue at the earliest.”

Shinde said that he was on the Mumbai-Goa highway on Monday when the statue collapsed. Pointing out how he took immediate cognisance of the mishap, he said that he instructed PWD minister Ravindra Chavan to visit the spot and asked police officials to register an FIR.

The CM, who had earlier sought to deflect blame by saying that the statue was designed and built by the Navy, on Thursday changed his stance. “The incident was unfortunate but I don’t want to blame the Navy,” he said. “Shivaji is our asmita (identity) and should not be used to play politics.” The western naval command had erected the Shivaji statue for the Indian Navy Day programme on December 4, 2023.

Meanwhile, the place where the statue stood is in the process of being cordoned off. “The Navy made this request,” said Sindhudurg collector Kishor Tawade. “We have stationed the State Reserve Police Force there on Thursday and completely cordoned it off. No one will be allowed to visit or stage a protest. We have also begun barricading Rajkot Fort.”

Shinde, who held a meeting on the statue issue late on Wednesday, has announced two committees. The first is a five-member committee under Commodore Pawan Dhingra to investigate the cause of the collapse and fix responsibility. The committee will have specialists from IIT and metallurgy experts. Sindhudurg superintendent of police Saurabh Agrawal has already taken metal samples to send for a forensic analysis.

A naval spokesperson said that this joint technical committee headed by the Indian navy, with representatives from the Maharashtra government and technical experts, would investigate the damage done to the statue subsequent to the exceptional weather conditions in the region.

The second committee has been appointed under additional chief secretary (PWD) Manisha Mhaiskar to study on how a new statue can be erected at the same spot. Shinde said the government would bear the entire cost of the statue. Sources said that the public works department (PWD) had offered to make the pedestal and get the statue sculpted at its cost. PWD sources said that the tender would be finalised in a month’s time.

The CM met several renowned sculptors like Vinay Wagh, Shashikant Wadke and Anil Sutar at his residence on Wednesday and Thursday. “I have got in touch with sculptors, and we are working towards erecting another statue at the earliest,” he said. “I appeal to our opponents to support us.”

Shinde termed the violent stand-off between the BJP and Shiv Sena (UBT) at Rajkot Fort “avoidable”. “Such a thing should not happen again,” he said. “One can’t play politics over such an issue.”