Row over Shivaji statue: 6-hour impasse as protesters camp outside Goa panchayat office, pelt stones

Protest ends after Calangute panchayat revokes direction to remove statue, sarpanch apologises

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The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj near the Calangute police station. (Express photo by Pavneet Singh Chadha)

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North Goa’s Calangute remained tense on Tuesday after a group of around 200 people camped outside the panchayat office for around six hours, demanding that the panchayat revoke its decision to direct authorities to remove a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that had been installed near the Calangute police station.

The protesters also demanded that the sarpanch issue a public apology for the panchayat’s decision, which they claimed had hurt Hindu sentiments.

While the panchayat members stayed inside, police were deployed in large numbers outside to keep the protesters from entering the office. As the impasse went on, some protesters scuffled with police and some pelted stones, breaking a window of the panchayat office as well as the windows of two cars.

Six hours into the protest, Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira walked out of the office, escorted by several police personnel, and issued an apology.

“The order has been withdrawn. If I have hurt anyone’s sentiments by issuing the notice, I apologise,” Sequeira said.

After Sequeira issued the apology late in the evening, the protesters declared “victory”.

Yashaswini B, deputy collector, Mapusa, said the protesters then dispersed and the situation was brought under control.

The protesters said they were affiliated with groups such as Shivswarajya Calangute, Karni Sena Sangathan, Bajrang Dal, and Shiv Sena among others.

According to the panchayat, the Shivswarajya Calangute – a group that claims to propagate the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – “illegally” installed a “full size” statue of Shivaji at the junction near Calangute police station on the night of June 3 without taking permission.

On Monday, a letter signed by Sequeira and addressed to Shivswarajya Calangute, the PWD executive engineer and the Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation (GSIDC), had said that the panchayat had unanimously passed a resolution declaring the statue illegal and directing authorities to remove the statue within 10 days, “failing which the panchayat shall take further action to remove the said statue”.

The letter had contended that “the panchayat had made arrangements to install a high mast pole for public convenience at the cross road location near Calangute police station on Saligao-Calangute road”, where the statue had come up. The letter also said the installation of the statue violated a previous Supreme Court judgment.

However, on Tuesday, the panchayat issued a written communique stating that its letter dated June 19 (Monday) stood withdrawn. It also said the panchayat would meet to “discuss and reconsider” the previous resolution.

Shivswarajya Calangute president Dnyaneshwar Mathkar said the group had written to the panchayat in September 2022, seeking a no-objection certificate (NOC) to install the statue near the police station circle, but had gotten no reply.

“There was a small Shivaji statue near that location, but it was not prominent. We wrote to the panchayat with details of the sketch and dimensions of the statue to be installed. We felt that there should be a bigger statue commemorating Shivaji’s life and his sacrifices. People, especially the younger generation, should be aware of his contribution. But the panchayat did not reply to our proposal and requests in the past several months. On June 3, at around 2 am, we, together with the locals, installed the statue,” Mathkar said.

“We do not need permission [to install the statue]…The statue was inaugurated later that same week, but no one raised an objection at the time. Now, after a fortnight, the panchayat has passed this order. This has been done to hurt our sentiments,” he added.