Shivaji's statue will not be removed from airport: Ajit Pawar

Mumbai, Apr 2: Maharashtra Water Conservation Minister Ajit Pawar today assured the State Legislative Assembly that the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji at international airport here will not be shifted.

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel has not accepted any such proposal, Mr Pawar informed the House. The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) is under renovation and the contract for the same has been awarded to GVK. The issue of Shivaji's statue was raised through Rule 57 and a discussion on it was held in lieu of the Question Hour as proposed by Leader of the Oposition Ramdas Kadam.

Gopinath Munde (BJP) told the House that if the statue is removed, it will hurt the sentiments of ten crore people in the state.

He pointed out that the statue had been unveiled by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in presence of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray.

Senior Sena leader Subhash Desai, Bashir Patel (NCP) and others also expressed their opinion on this issue.

UNI