Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised for the collapse of the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue at Rajkot Fort in Maharashtra’s Sindhudurg district. Speaking at a public event in Palghar, PM Modi said that the Maratha emperor is “my god”.

“For me, my colleagues, and everyone, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a king. He is highly revered and worshipped. For us, he is our aaradhya dev (revered deity). He is not just a name for us,” he said.

The 35-ft Shivaji statue, inaugurated by PM Modi on Navy Day on December 4 last year, collapsed on August 26, leaving the state government embarrassed.

“Today I bow my head and apologise to my god Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. I know their sentiments are hurt,” he added.

“My sanskar (culture) is entirely different. In 2013, when my party projected me as the Prime Minister candidate, the first thing I did was visit Raigad Fort. I bowed before Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue and sought his blessings,” PM Modi said after launching the Rs 76,000 crore Vadhvan Port project.

The collapse of the Shivaji statue sparked a bitter exchange between the ruling and opposition parties in poll-bound Maharashtra. Initially, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde claimed the statue fell due to heavy winds along the seashore, while Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the statue was constructed by the Navy, not the state government.

After the central BJP leadership expressed dissatisfaction with these explanations, Shinde declared he would not hesitate to “apologise a 1,000 times” for the incident.

The Congress had lashed out at the PM over the incident and demanded his apology.

“Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj who is worshipped in the whole of Maharashtra and India, to whom we call “public’s king”, his statue was made in Malvan’s Rajkot Fort, which was inaugurated by PM Modi. First, of all, I want to ask PM Modi Ji about the bhumi-pujan he did for Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s statue in the Arabian Sea,” Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad was quoted as saying.