Thane/Nashik: NCP members on Sunday performed milk ‘abhishek’ on statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Thane city, Ambernath township, and Nashik in Maharashtra.
They also staged a protest against Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai to condemn the alleged desecration of Chhatrapati Shivaji’s statue in Bengaluru.
Earlier in the day, members of NCP gathered near the bust of the 17th Century king and performed milk ‘abhishek’ in Ambernath. They raised slogans hailing the Maratha king.
Similar ‘abhishek’ was performed on the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at Masunda lake in Thane city neighbouring Mumbai.
On the occasion, the activists slapped the picture of the Karnataka chief minister.
Speaking to reporters, Thane Guardian Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde said it was not the first time that the national icon Shivaji Maharaj was insulted by some means or the other.
He reiterated that the Karnataka government take stringent action against the culprits of the Bengaluru incident.
“Otherwise, we know how to deal with them. The local government (Karnataka) will be responsible,” he said.
Tension prevailed in Belagavi bordering Maharashtra on Saturday after alleged members of the Maharashtra Ekikarana Samiti vandalised a statue of freedom fighter Sangolli Rayanna, following news that a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was desecrated in Bengaluru.
During an agitation held by NCP members in Pathardi Phat area on the Mumbai-Agra highway in Nashik, milk was poured on the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj.
Later, they shouted slogans against the Karnataka chief minister.
They demanded that the Centre and the Karnataka governments take serious note of the desecration incident in Bengaluru.
“We respect Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as our God. Therefore, the Centre should intervene in the matter and take stringent action against the miscreants,” a former MLA said.
Also read: Belagavi tense as Karnataka-Maharashtra border dispute triggers vandalism, stone-pelting