Amid the coronavirus outbreak, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday visited Pandharpur in Solapur district and performed ‘mahapooja’ of Lord Vitthal and Goddess Rukmini on the occasion of Ashadhi Ekadashi.
Thackeray was accompanied by his wife Rashmi Thackeray and son Aaditya Thackeray, who is a cabinet minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra.
“We don’t have medicine. How do we carry on with life with a cloth strip covering our faces? I prayed to God to make Maharashtra and the country free of the coronavirus,” he said.
Each year, lakhs of devotees of Lord Vitthal (warkaris) from across Maharashtra and other states start their journey to visit the temple in Solapur on Ashadhi Ekadashi. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak and curfew in place, only a handful of devotees were seen.
The state administration had cancelled the annual wari pilgrimage in which lakhs of devotees walk to Pandharpur. The Thackeray performed the pooja along with a Warkari couple from Chinchpur-Pangul village in Pathardi taluka of Ahmednagar district.
Thackeray had earlier appealed the devotees to not take part in the wari procession but to offer prayers from home instead.
Sharad Pawar Should've Asked Prime Minister To Speak: Congress Leader Nitin Raut
MahaVitaran To Provide 2 Per Cent Discount To Consumers On Electricity Bill: Nitin Raut
Use Of Marathi As Official Language In Government Work Mandatory: Maharashtra Government