NCP leader Vinayak Mete proposed the idea of an iconic Shivaji Maharaj statue in 1990
NCP leader Vinayak Mete proposed the idea of an iconic Shivaji Maharaj statue in 1990
Former MLC Vinayak Mete, founder president of the Shiv Sangram and now vice president of Sharad Pawar's NCP, is the man who had first asked for a monument honouring Chhatrapati Shivaji in 1990.
Mete, an independent, who became an MLC with the support of the Shiv Sena in 1996, had even got the idea included in the Sena-BJP's joint election manifesto ahead of the 1994 Assembly elections. The Sena-BJP formed the government with the support of several independents.
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JAI MAHARASHTRA: Vinayak Mete got the plan for the Shivaji monument included in the Shiv Sena-BJP manifesto during the 1994 Assembly elections. FILE PIC |
"The then CM Manohar Joshi had constituted a committee for the monument under revenue minister Sudhir Joshi. I was a member of the committee. We scouted for many suitable spots for the monument in the city Film City, Aarey Colony, etc. But I had been insisting from day one that like the Gateway of India, the monument should be near the sea in south Mumbai, so that it is a prime tourist attraction. It should be convenient for everyone to visit," Mete told MiD Day.
"All nations have strong nationalistic sentiments that are reflected through their monuments. Maharashtra does not have a single monument in the name of the Maratha warrior king who valiantly battled foreigners and Moghuls. To put a measure of Rs 300 crore to Chhatrapati Shivaji's stature and his significance in Indian history only shows how intellectually bankrupt some of us have become,'' he added.
Known for his agitations for the cause of Marathas, Mete even formed his own party the Nav Maharashtra Vikas Party in 1997 which he merged into the NCP when the latter was formed in 1999.
Marred by violence
Exactly a year ago, on June 4, Kumar Ketkar, editor of leading Marathi daily Loksatta, wrote an editorial calling the monument an election issue. The next day, Mete's supporters ransacked his Thane apartment. The NCP suspended Mete, but later restored him as the vice president of the party ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
Mete, however, clarified, "We did not attack Ketkar. We only wanted him to realise that it was not an election issue. We have been asking for it for over a decade. I am also not opposed to historian Babasaheb Purandare heading the government committee. I only wanted the CM to head it because it would facilitate work better since the monument will require several permissions from various state and central agencies."
Ketkar said he had never opposed Chhatrapati Shivaji or the monument.
"All I had said was that the Cong-NCP was treating it as a poll issue while several issues like slums, education, housing, city transport and infrastructure were either unheeded or pending.u00a0 I said, do developmental work and name it after Chhatrapati Shivaji. People will benefit and remember you for that."
To build or not to build
The city speaks up...It isn't about a choice between building the statue, or spending the money elsewhere. The BMC's budget for preserving the environment is 20 times Rs 300 crore, but is it being spent? The total budget for conserving the 103 sq km of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park is Rs 5 crore while the amount to preserve the 25,000 flamingoes is zero. The Bandra Worli Sea Link is worth Rs 1,600 crores, but the national budget for wildlife conservation is nowhere near that amount. It doesn't matter how much water you pour into a leaky bucket, you're going to have no water in the end. The truth is that the leaky bucket that is our city is being run by builders, politicians and narrow-minded bureaucrats.
Bittu Sehgal Environmentalist
While gestures are important and we equate the statue of Shivaji Maharaj with an expression of our pride like the Statue of Liberty, there's no doubting that the state of theatre is dreadful. There are no rehearsal rooms, no indoor theatres that are properly equipped and, unfortunately, theatre actors have to tilt their imagination according to the means they work within, which is the worst thing for their creativity. There's a funny joke about actors and the audiences often having to wait for wedding processions to pass by before they can pick up again because outside noises often interrupt plays. We have been invited to bring forth our concerns and I feel that if 10 small well-equipped rehearsal rooms and theatres are built across the state and are called the Chhatrapati Shivaji auditoriums, they would be fitting tributes to the great icon.
Shanta Gokhale Theatre personality
What percent of the total revenue that is earmarked for public projects does
Rs 300 crore constitute? I think it is a small amount. More so, this money that is being diverted to bring about emotional satisfaction is a promise that has been waiting for some time to be fulfilled. It is too late now to be debating over the amount that is being spent on it.
S S Tinaikar Former municipal commissioner
The idea of having a statue in the sea is a wonderful concept. If maintained properly, it wouldn't lose its charm like other statues.
A renowned city architect (Did not want to be named)
