MVA holds protest; Modi's apology smacks of arrogance, says Uddhav

The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi on Sunday took out a march in Mumbai to protest the collapse of Shivaji Maharaj's statue and rejected Prime Minister Narendra Modi's apology over the incident, stepping up the political confrontation with the ruling Mahayuti ahead of the assembly polls.

Claiming that the statue incident was being "politicised" by the Opposition, the ruling BJP also demonstrated in various parts of the state.

The jode maro andolan' (hitting with slippers) protest reflected the unity among the Maha Vikas Aghadi partnersShiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), and Congress, pitted against the ruling troika of Shiv Sena, BJP, and NCP.

Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, and state Congress chief Nana Patole laid wreaths at a memorial dedicated the martyrs of the joint Maharashtra' agitation in south Mumbai, before leading the march from Hutatma Chowk to the Gateway of India.

They slammed the Union and state governments over the statue crash, with Thackeray dismissing Modi's apology as one "smacking of arrogance". Pawar alleged the statue episode was an example of corruption.