konddev statue will be shifted in 24 hrs- Mayor , pune

Konddeo's statue will be shifted in 24 hrs: Mayor
TNN, Aug 26, 2010, 04.52am

PUNE: The statue of Dadoji Konddeo will be removed from the historic Lal Mahal, which was the residence of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, within 24 hours. The assurance was given by Pune mayor Mohansingh Rajpal on Wednesday to protesting Lokshasan Andolan members, who were led by former justices P B Sawant and B G Kolse Patil. The protestors had gheraoed the PMC headquarters in large numbers for more than five hours, demanding the removal of the statue from Lal Mahal. Meanwhile, 53 protestors were arrested late on Thursday evening. Senior inspector Sampat Patil of the Shivajinagar police, however, said, "We will release them on bail." Konddeo's statue is part of a sculpture depicting Chhatrapati Shivaji, along with Jijamata, tilling the soil of Pune with a golden plough. Konddeo, according to some historians, guided Shivaji during his childhood. However, some historians say that he was not Shivaji's teacher. "We will ensure that the statue is removed from Lal Mahal within 24 hours. I will place the issue before all party leaders and, by tomorrow (Thursday) evening, the statue will be removed. I promise that we will not retract on this stand," said Rajpal while speaking to the protestors. Standing committee chairman and Congress corporator Arvind Shinde supported the mayor's stand and said the statue will be removed without any delay. In a late evening development, Rajpal handed over a letter to the civic administration directing removal of the statue. Speaking to TOI, Rajpal said, "When the statue was erected, the General Body's permission was not taken. Also, we considered the fact that the state government had stopped giving awards in the name of Konddeo and that his reference as guru of Shivaji has been deleted from the textbook. The state government has already said that there is nothing to prove that Konddeo was Chhatrapati Shivaji's guru. It is necessary to maintain law and order in the city."