Goa Panchayat Orders Removal of Illegal Shivaji Statue but Backtracks After Violent Protests

New Delhi: Following violent protests, a panchayat in Goa’s Calangute town apologised on Tuesday, June 20 for ordering an illegally installed Shivaji statue to be removed from a local crossroads.

Protestors camped outside the Calangute panchayat’s office for around six hours on Tuesday and included members of the Shivswarajya Calangute, Bajrang Dal and Shiv Sena, the Indian Express reported.

Scuffles between protestors and police deployed to protect the panchayat office escalated to stone-pelting by the former, damaging the office as well as cars situated nearby.

According to statements made by Shivswarajya Calangute president Dnyaneshwar Mathkar to the Express, the organisation applied for permission to install a Shivaji statue at a local crossroads starting in September 2022 but received no response from the panchayat.

“There was a small Shivaji statue near that location, but it was not prominent … We felt that there should be a bigger statue commemorating Shivaji’s life and his sacrifices,” Mathkar told the Express.

But the organisation installed the statue anyway in the early hours of Saturday, June 3, despite receiving no permission to do so.

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Although the panchayat did not take any action then, it wrote to the Shivswarajya Calangute and some government civic bodies on Monday, June 19 that the statue was illegal, and ordered its removal within 10 days.

“I am not against Shivaji Maharaj … But as per [a] Supreme Court order, statues can't be installed on major district roads … So we were forced to issue a notice for its removal,” Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira said according to news agency IANS.

The Times of India reported that the panchayat had planned to install a high-mast lamp at the site where the Shivaji statue currently stands.

Calangute sarpanch Joseph Sequeira. Photo: calangutepanchayat.com.

But some protestors alleged that the panchayat's order was meant to stoke communal tensions.

"If there can be a statue of Portuguese footballer Ronaldo in Calangute, and statues of leaders from other faiths, then what is the issue with a statue of Shivaji?" a member of the Kesariya Hindu Vahini told the Express.

Although Sequeira initially refused to apologise for promulgating the order, he eventually retracted it and apologised for it on the evening of June 20 after protesters refused to disperse.

“The order has been withdrawn. If I have hurt anyone’s sentiments by issuing the notice, I apologise,” he was quoted as saying by the Express after coming out of the shuttered office.

Protesters dispersed following his apology at around 5:30 pm.

Calangute has remained tense following the protest. A Times report states that a local man was arrested by police after he posted comments against the protesters on social media.

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