Warkaris say anti-superstition bill targets them, will hold protests if it's passed
Warkaris say anti-superstition bill targets them, will hold protests if it's passedu00a0
Despiteu00a0assurances from Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar that Warkaris and others performing religious acts will not be targeted by the long-awaited anti-superstition law, six Warkari organisations have warned the Democratic Front government that it shall have to face their ire if the Maharashtra Eradication of Blind Faith Bill is passed in the legislature.
Irked: Madhav Maharaj Shivnikar (centre), president of Warkari
Organisation with the other warkaris. Pic/Jignesh mistryThe anti-superstition bill is slated to be introduced before the end of the Budget session. If the bill is not approved, the government plans to introduce an ordinance to prevent black magic. "We shall take a huge morcha of a lakh Warkaris to Mantralaya in Mumbai and demonstrate against the bill," said Madhav Maharaj Shivnikar, president of Warkari Organisation.
He also warned that Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan will not be allowed to perform the traditional puja at the Vitthal temple in Pandharpur on the Aashadhi Ekadashi day.
u00a0Citing the bill as an instrument to cheat the entire Warkari community in the state, Shivnikar said that in the name of anti-superstition the bill might even threaten the very existence of the community. "This act may become an atrocity against us," he added. Without naming any organi sation, he said the Warkaris will not tolerate the passing of the bill just to please a few people.
Prakash Maharaj Javanjal, a Warkari leader from Maharashtra State Warkari Mandal, said that Sant Dnyaneshwar had performed some miraculous deeds such as making an animal recite the Vedas and making an earthen wall fly. "It is a question of the faith of lakhs of Maharashtrians and the bill may end up being a direct attack on it," he said.
Dr Narendra Dabholkar, founder president, Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (Anti-Superstition Committee), had taken the lead in drafting the bill and had submitted it to the government.
Dabholkar said the bill did not pose any threat to the Warkari community and would not interfere with their religious sentiments."The anti-superstition bill does not object to any religion in the country. We are ready to have an open debate on the bill with the Warkari leaders on a common platform," Dabholkar said. "The Warkaris are being instigated by a faction of hardline Hindus among them."
