Is BJP ’punishing’ Maharashtra?: Congress says Shivaji, Gandhi and Ambedkar statues near Parliament removed

Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) poor performance in Lok Sabha Elections 2024 in Maharashtra, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Mahatma Gandhi, and Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar were removed "from their places of prominence in front of the Parliament House".

"This is atrocious," Ramesh posted on X while sharing pictures showing barren land. Reacting to Ramesh's post, another Congress leader Pawan Khera asked, “Are they punishing Maharashtra for voting against them?”

Khera launched a scathing attack on the BJP, alleging that, "When Ayodhya defeated the BJP, these people started abusing the Ram devotees."

In another post on X, he said, "When Maharashtra voters did not vote for BJP, the statues of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Baba Saheb Ambedkar were removed from their original place in Parliament."

"When they [BJP] did not get 26/26 seats in Gujarat, they removed the statue of Mahatma Gandhi from its original place in Parliament. Just think, if we had given them 400 seats, would they have spared the Constitution?" Khera added.

Khera's statement was a dig at the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. The Mahayuti alliance — which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and the NCP headed by Ajit Pawar -  witnessed a defeat at the hand of the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the Lok Sabha Elections 2027.

While the Mahayuti won 17 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in the state, the MVA (comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP) bagged 30 seats in the state.

As the BJP saw a massive decline in its seat share in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, state Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took responsibility for the party's abysmal performance on Wednesday. He also urged the top leadership to relieve him of ministerial duties so that he could work for the party.

“Whatever loss we suffered in the LS polls in Maharashtra, I take full responsibility for it. Therefore, I urge the top leadership to relieve me of my ministerial duties, for I need to work for the party and contribute my time to the preparations of the state assembly polls,” Fadnavis said while addressing the media in Mumbai.

The BJP victory tally was much lower than its 2019 tally of 303 and the 282 seats it had won in 2014. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats compared to 52 that it had won in 2019 and 44 seats in 2014. The INDIA bloc crossed the 230 mark, posing stiff competition, and defying all predictions from exit polls.

(With inputs from ANI)