Raid by HJS and pro-Hindu organizations : Crackers confiscated from vendors and handed over to Upper District Magistrate at Kolhapur
Kolhapur (Maharashtra): Activists of Hindu Janajagruti Samiti (HJS) and other pro-Hindu organizations confiscated crackers with pictures of Hindu Deities and great national leaders besides crackers causing pollution, from the vendors and handed them over to Mr. Sanjay Powar, the Upper District Magistrate. Mr. Powar admonished them and asked them that they should not keep such crackers for sale again.
A representation was submitted on behalf of HJS to the Upper District Magistrate about 15 days back stating that crackers with pictures of Deities and national leaders cause denigration; crackers which make loud noise while bursting cause noise and air pollution; therefore, ban should be imposed on such crackers. Accordingly, officers were instructed to issue and publish an order banning sale of such crackers; despite this, vendors kept the crackers for sale. As it came to the notice of activists of HJS and other pro-Hindu organizations, Mr. Banda Salokhe, the Western Maharashtra chief of Bajarang Dal, Mr. Sambhaji Bhokare, the dy. District chief of Shiv Sena, Mr. Raju Yadav, Karveer taluka—chief of Shiv Sena, Mr. Ranjit Jadhav, its dy. city-chief, Mr. Baburao Patil, Mr. Suresh Chavan, Madhukar Nazare, Shivanand Swami, Deepak Bhopale of HJS marched into shops of vendors selling these crackers. Mr. Raju Yadav asked the vendors, “Would you keep crackers with pictures of objects worshipped by followers of other religions? If you show courage to do so, I will give you Rs. 50, 000/-/” The vendors had no answer. Thereafter, the above referred pro-Hindu activists confiscated crackers with their names as ‘Samartha Phataka’, ‘Ayanwala Phataka’, ‘Sai Baba Phataka’, ‘Satya Jinendra Phataka’, ‘Kodak Phataka, ‘Neelkanth Phataka’ etc. with pictures of Deities and the crackers causing pollution and handed them over to the Upper District Magistrate, Sanjay Powar in District Collector’s office. Mr. Powar then warned the vendors against selling such crackers in future.
Source: Daily Sanatan Prabhat
