Police action on 'warkaris' triggers political storm in Maharashtra
Clashes allegedly broke out on Sunday during a religious procession in Maharashtra's Pune district between warkaris—devotees of Lord Vitthal—and the Maharashtra Police over entry to the Alandi temple. Following the incident, the opposition claimed the police allegedly resorted to lathi-charge to control the crowd and slammed the state government for police action. It also demanded a high-level probe and strict action over the incident.
Devotees clash with police over entry to Alandi temple: Report
According to the Hindustan Times, clashes broke out after some worshippers attempted to gain access, allegedly against norms, to the Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Samadhi Mandir in Alandi town during the annual Ashadhi Ekadashi pilgrimage to Pandharpur. While the police dispatched batches of 75 worshippers at a time, a few people reportedly stormed the barricades and attempted to force their way inside the temple.
Restriction over temple entry resulted in stampede last year
The police allegedly resorted to lathi-charge to stop devotees from entering the temple. A stampede had also occurred last year, injuring several women. Notably, only 47 groups were selected for darshan inside the temple with a maximum of 75 pilgrims per group this year.
No lathi-charge on warkari community: Fadnavis
Meanwhile, videos of police using lathis to suppress mobs went viral, causing outrage among warkaris and inviting sharp political reactions. However, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the home minister, described it as a little squabble and stated that no one should play politics on this subject. "There was no lathi-charge on the warkari community," he told reporters in Nagpur.
Deputy CM Fadnavis denies allegations
Fadnavis also denied allegations made by the opposition and claimed that politics was involved in this matter. "In order to control the mob as a preventive measure, it was decided to limit the number of attendees to 75 people. But hundreds of people gathered...and tried to enter and when police tried to prevent them from entering, a minor skirmish broke out," said Fadnavis.
'Such incident never happened in history of Maharashtra': NCP
While condemning the incident, the Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Ajit Pawar said, "An incident like this at such a sacred place has never happened in the history of Maharashtra. This could have been avoided through proper planning by the government." Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP Sanjay Raut also expressed anger over the incident and compared the government with the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb's regime.
Congress's Nana Patole demanded strict action over lathi-charge
Congress state president Nana Patole demanded strict action over the alleged incident. "Shinde-Fadnavis government has failed in punishing the culprits of riots but has attacked warkaris by ordering lathi charge at Alandi. We condemn the government for this lathi charge," he said. "The government should order a high-level inquiry and strict action should be taken against the concerned officers," he added.
