The ruling Shiv Sena took on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over its Ghantanaad protest, which has demanded reopening of temples in Maharashtra, and asked if the opposition party would take the blame for a surge in coronavirus disease (Covid-19) cases in the state following the relaxation.
The Maharashtra unit of the BJP on Saturday had warned the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government that it would forcibly reopen all the temples in the state if the government did not give permission for it.
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The BJP’s threat came after a day-long ghantanad andolan held across Maharashtra.
As part of the protest, party workers had assembled outside temples ringing brass bells, blowing conches and chanting hymns across various cities and towns in Maharashtra, demanding their reopening.
“People would get mental peace through the reopening of temples, but if there is again an explosion in Covid-19 cases, will the opposition take responsibility of it? Devendra Fadnavis said that people understand how to maintain physical distancing after religious places are reopened. But it was visible how the physical distancing was maintained in the ghantanaad andolan held by the BJP the other day. The opposition should understand the situation rather than making such unrealistic demands,” said an editorial in the Sena mouthpiece Saamana on Monday.
It questioned if the demand to allow reopening of religious places had anything to do with faith or it was only a political ploy.
{{/usCountry}}It questioned if the demand to allow reopening of religious places had anything to do with faith or it was only a political ploy.
{{/usCountry}}Prakash Ambedkar, the president of Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, has also demanded the reopening of the Vitthal-Rukmai temple at Pandharpur in Solapur district.
The editorial cited that All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) Member of Parliament (MP) Imtiaz Jaleel had also threatened that he would “break the locks” of mosques in Aurangabad on September 2, if the state government did not allow them to reopen.
The demand for reopening of religious places has been going on for around a month, but the Uddhav Thackeray government is treading cautiously to avoid crowding because Covid-19 cases have been steadily climbing in Maharashtra.
Fadnavis, the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, had questioned the rationale behind keeping temples shut while allowing shopping malls, liqour stores etc to remain open.
“There are many aspects, including livelihood of the poor, interlinked to pilgrimage centres to social aspects, which cannot be overlooked. It’s a matter of an individual’s faith and belief, which the government should respect and open temples,” Fadnavis had said on Saturday.
In an apparent response to Fadnavis, the editorial said, “... Besides peace of the mind, temples should be reopened, as they are a source of livelihood for lakhs of families. The locks on temples should be opened for peace of mind, but not for political reasons. First, let people live, the rest will be dealt with later.”