Ganeshotsav 2022: Bombay HC restores Shiv Sena split tableau with minor tweaks

Volunteers reinstall an exhibit at the Ganpati pandal of Vijay Tarun Mitra Mandal after Friday’s HC order

The Bombay High Court on Friday allowed a mandal from Kalyan to showcase its Ganeshotsav decorations, inspired by the recent political upheaval in the Shiv Sena, with a few tweaks, days after the police seized the set on the grounds that they might trigger law and order problems. The Thane police had even blocked Vijay Tarun Mitra Mandal from installing its Ganpati idol and performing puja at the venue.

This set is back at the pandal of Vijay Tarun Mitra Mandal, Kalyan

Advocate Rajesh Data, who represented the mandal before the division bench of justices Madhav Jamdar and Revati Mohite, said, "The court asked us to remove words like gaddar [traitor] and rajkiya vyapri [political traders] from the set's audio clip. It also told us to remove a few caricatures from the decorations."

The mandal has been organising Ganeshotsav for the last 59 years and has often satirised political flashpoints as its themes. It chose to highlight, in its own way, the rebellion triggered by Eknath Shinde, who was supported by over 40 MLA from the Shiv Sena, leading to the collapse of the MVA government. The mandal's theme displayed a huge fruit-bearing tree surrounded by politicians, suggesting the rebels, with the support of the BJP, are riding on the popularity of Shiv Sena.

Also Read: Mumbai: Kalyan cops swoop down on Shiv Sena split-themed Ganesh pandal

On August 31, cops confiscated the exhibit and registered a case against mandal trustee Vijay Salvi, and office-bearers. The police action prompted the mandal to approach the HC. The court granted the mandal relief asking it to make a few changes to the set. "We accept the order of the court. We will remove the words as directed by the court," said advocate Salvi. Umesh Mane Patil, assistant police commissioner of Kalyan, didn't respond to calls.

The mandal is not the only one to capture the Sena split in its theme. A Ganesh mandal in Pune got artist Satish Taru to make statutes of CM Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray to depict the same and named it satta manthan (political churning).