Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday apologised for the recent collapse of a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, which was erected last year. The Prime Minister's statement comes days after a 35-foot-long statue of the Maratha warrior king collapsed at the Rajkot fort in Sindhudurg district.

Addressing a gathering in Maharashtra's Palghar, the Prime Minister said Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name for him. "Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is not just a name for us... today I bow my head and apologise to my god Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Our values are different, we are not those people who keep abusing and insulting the great son of Mother India, the son of this land, Veer Savarkar. They are not ready to apologize, they are ready to go to the courts and fight," he said. "Those who consider Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj as their deity and have been deeply hurt, I bow my head and apologise to them. Our values are different. For us, nothing is bigger than our deity," the PM added.