Maharashtra: VHP slams MVA for banning dindi, warns of statewide stir

NAGPUR: Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) has planned statewide token protests targeting Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government over ban on annual dindi, which is over seven-century-old tradition, by Warkaris to the temple of town of Pandharpur in the name of Covid restrictions.
The VHP and leaders of Warkari sect have termed the government stance as ‘anti-Hindu’ and have planned protest march against the MVA regime. They have demanded that being son of Hindutva proponent Balasaheb Thackeray, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray should tender an apology for the action taken against Warkaris this month.
Thackeray should also take the moral responsibility for the wrongdoing and not come to Pandharpur for the official worship of Lord Vithoba at the hands of chief minister.
Press conferences were held by VHP units across the state, including Nagpur, to announce protests that are slated to begin from July 17.
The annual dindi starts from July 1, in which devotees carrying palanquins that have footprints of saints Tukaram and Gyaneshwar reach Pandharpur. The procession has been banned due to Covid.
The VHP and Warkari sect leaders have alleged the government is pushing its anti-Hindu agenda by taking advantage of the pandemic. The leaders also hit out at the other alliance members of the MVA government.
It has been alleged that Warkaris, who tried to go ahead with the dindi, were insulted by making them take off their traditional attire. Devotees, including senior leader Bandatya Karadkar, were arrested.
“Why should religious procession be banned in Maharashtra alone if it’s happening elsewhere in the country? Did the Kumbh mela not happen in Uttar Pradesh. Events are also being held in Gujarat and Rajasthan with all precautions. We are ready to follow the protocol, but the state government is bent upon imposing the ban,” said Srirampant Joshi of the Warkari sect and a senior VHP functionary.
“Does Covid not spread if liquor shops are open,” said Joshi when asked about the risk of infection due such a congregation and the flak that Delhi’s Markaz incident had drawn.
“The protest march planned across the state will be of token nature. Warkaris in small numbers will be taking part in what I term as bhajan andolan. Singing devotional songs along the way, protesters will hand over a memorandum to respective district collectors,” said Sanat Gupta, joint secretary of VHP’s Vidarbha unit. The protests will be held in every taluka of the state and safety measures will be followed strictly, he said.
The sect leaders said if the demands are still not met, then the agitation would be intensified. “We may forcibly open the temple,” said Joshi.