The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up its criticism on Maharashtra’s Maha Vikas Aghadi government on Monday, asking ‘why are all restrictions on Hindu festivals being implemented in Maharashtra?’ The state administration has outlawed the annual ‘Dahi Handi’ celebrations on Janmashtami, due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
BJP MLA and chief whip in Maharasthra Assembly, Ashish Shelar said: ‘Is this government taking orders from Taliban? Why are all restrictions being enforced on Hindu festivals in Maharashtra?’
He claimed the Shiv Sena was compromising on its ‘Hindutva’ and said that it was the same party that raised ‘hue and cry’ when the Bombay High Court limited the height of human pyramids during Dahi Handi celebrations. ‘A few years ago when the court, responding to public interest litigation, directed the government to restrict heights of the pyramid, there was hue and cry by Shiv Sena. It was the same Shiv Sena which asked, Now, if restrictions are imposed in India, are we suppose to go to Pakistan and celebrate Dahi Handi,’ he said.
Shelar continued, ‘Even with constraints on the height of the human pyramids and crowds, the authorities refused to approve Dahi Handi.’ However, despite the state government’s ban, the BJP has decided to commemorate the event symbolically.
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Aside from BJP, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena also threatened to rebel against the government. The MNS leader said, ‘Why should government restrict the festival. We will celebrate ensuring all Covid guidelines. What kind of government is ruling Maharashtra which disallows peaceful festival celebration?’
MNS activist Avinash Jadhav and allies organised a demonstration in Thane and had begun Dahi Handi preparations on a private open space, prompting police action.
Dahi Handi is a cultural ceremony held to commemorate Lord Krishna’s birth. It’s a symbolic recreation of Lord Krishna’s youth.
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