Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said that the state government intends to reopen the temples in Maharashtra after full preparations. Although Raut said that the state government has no desire to keep the temples closed, he also pointed out that the rising COVID-19 cases on a daily basis should be kept in mind.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Navnriman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray had written a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray demanding the state government to allow the reopening of temples.
The opposition has been pressuring the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government to reopen all places of worship in Maharashtra. The MNS chief also joined the opposition demanding the temples to reopen.
Taking a dig at the state government, Thackeray said that the state government has slipped into a standstill mode on certain issues. He warned that people will not care for the restrictions imposed by the state government and will open the temples forcibly if the demand to reopen temples is ignored.
Reacting to this, Raut said that the government was is no desire to keep the religious places shut and advised the opposition parties to take the issue up with the Chief Minister.
“The government doesn’t desire to keep the temples closed. The Chief Minister actually wants the temples to reopen and he is likely to take a decision soon. However, one has to keep in mind the increasing COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra,” the Shiv Sena MP said.
Under Unlock 3.0, the central government provided relaxations and allowed the religious places to reopen from June 8. However, the Maharashtra government has not allowed the same.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on August 29 organised a statewide “ghantanad Andolan or bell-ringing agitation” to demand the reopening of temples in Maharashtra. Meanwhile, on Monday, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) chief Prakash Ambedkar also led to march outside the Vitthal temples in Pandharpur and was supported by Warkaris and their local organisations.
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