Warkari devotees on option to a temple in Pandharpur have been allegedly lathicharged by the Maharashtra police in Pune district on Sunday. That is the primary time Warkaris — devotees of the Lord Vithoba, a type of Lord Krishna — have been subjected to police motion within the state. Sources indicated that the devotees had obtained into an argument with the police throughout the procession. The altercation occurred throughout entry into the Shree Kshetra temple of Alandi city — 22 km from Pune metropolis — for a ceremony.
Police sources mentioned that they had resorted to gentle lathicharge to regulate the overwhelming variety of devotees. The rule s to permit solely 75 members to enter the premises however as an alternative, round 400 folks have been making an attempt to forcibly enter the temple.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis denied allegations of lathicharge and known as it a “minor scuffle”. “There was no lathicharge on the Warkari neighborhood,” Mr Fadnavis advised reporters in Nagpur.
“We realized from the final 12 months’s stampede-like state of affairs on the identical place (Alandi) and tried giving fewer entry passes to numerous teams. It was determined to subject 75 passes to every group that take part within the pilgrimage,” Mr Fadnavis, who handles the House portfolio, was quoted as saying by information company Press Belief of India.
He mentioned round 500 folks insisted that they might take part within the pilgrimage and will not comply with the choice on the restricted allotment of the entry cross.
“They broke the barricades and the police tried to cease them, throughout which some police personnel have been injured,” Mr Fadnavis mentioned.
The state of affairs has drawn opposition assault on the federal government.
“Oh oh.. The pretensions of the Hindutva authorities uncovered.. The masks fell off. How was Aurangzeb behaving otherwise? Mughals have reincarnated in Maharashtra,” learn a tough translation of a tweet by senior Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut.
अरे अरे.. हिंदूत्ववादी सरकारचे ढोंग उघडे पडले.. मुखवटे गळून पडले..औरंगजेब यापेक्षा वेगळे काय वागत होता?वारकऱ्यांचा हिंदू आक्रोश सरकार असा चिरडून टाकतआहे. मोगलाई महाराष्ट्रात पुन्हा अवतरली आहे..@BJP4Maharashtra@Dev_Fadnavis@AUThackeray
@ https://t.co/pnUc45IZ01— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) June 11, 2023
“The way by which the police batoned the Warkari brothers in Sri Kshetra Alandi could be very outrageous. This insult to the Warkaris within the presence of the good saint Dnyaneshwar Maharaj, who laid the inspiration of the Warkari sect, is very condemnable. Does the federal government have any accountability in the direction of Warkari sect or not?” tweeted NCP’s Chaggan Bhujbal.
श्री क्षेत्र आळंदी येथे वारकरी बांधवांवर पोलिसांनी लाठीमार केल्याचा प्रकार अत्यंत संतापजनक आहे. वारकरी संप्रदायाचा पाया रचणारे थोर संत ज्ञानेश्वर महाराज यांच्या आळंदीत वारकरी बांधवांचा झालेला हा अपमान अत्यंत निषेधार्ह आहे. वारकरी संप्रदाय, वारकरी बांधव यांच्याबद्दल सरकारची काही… pic.twitter.com/IDtIy1azn3
— Chhagan Bhujbal (@ChhaganCBhujbal) June 11, 2023
The Warkaris are pilgrims who go from Alandi to the Vithal temple in Pandharpur. The stroll had began from June 11.
The departure of Sant Dnyaneshwar Maharaj Palkhi from Alandi and Sant Tukaram Maharaj Palkhi from Dehu on June 10 signifies the start of this grand pilgrimage.
The Warkaris are anticipated to converge within the sacred city of Pandharpur on the auspicious day of Ashadhi Ekadashi on June 29.