In a brazen violation of the Supreme Court order of limiting dahi handi height to 20 feet, organisers affiliated to Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Thursday not only tied up handis above the permissible limit but also challenged the police to initiate action against them.
In Thane’s Naupada, Jogeshwari’s Jai Jawan govinda group built a human pyramid of 9 tiers at the dahi handi organised by MNS leader Avinash Jadhav. Wearing a white T-shirt which announced ‘ Hoy, me Kayda modnar [Yes, I will break the law]’ in Marathi, Mr. Jadhav said his leader Mr. Thackeray had 92 cases against him and he would not be scared if one case was slapped against him too.
In Chembur, MNS leader Karna Dunbale’s dahi handi too witnessed violation of SC orders with eight-tier human pyramid. “We stand firmly with govinda groups. If the police decide to initiate action, the MNS will stand with the groups,” said MNS leader and ex-MLA Nitin Sardesai.
Apart from the height limits, the SC had disallowed govindas below 18 years to participate in dahi handi. In various handis across the cities, children below permissible age limit were seen participating in building human pyramid with organisers refusing to stop them.
In addition to the height violation, Shiv Sena MLA Prakash Surve’s much-famed handi at Borivali’s Magathane had no security arrangement as mandated by the court order.
“Even though some groups have violated the height limit, it has not created a law and order problem anywhere in the city. We request the police to not take any action against these groups,” said Rajan Vichare, Shiv Sena MP from Thane.
According to sources, both the Sena and the MNS used the opportunity as a launch pad for their campaigns of coming civic polls in Mumbai and Thane. “The MNS has pounced on it, because the party thinks it will reenergise the defunct party cadre. These are all gimmicks to gain attention and to reaffirm claim on Marathi votes,” said a senior BJP leader.
Video-recordingAdditional Chief Secretary (Home) K.P. Bakshi on Wednesday clarified that the police forces would be keeping an eye on dahi handi celebrations to ensure that the court order was followed. According to police sources, the officers video-recorded handis at various places in Mumbai and Thane, following which action would be taken.
While the MNS and the Sena openly violated the SC orders, the principal ally in the ruling coalition, the BJP had comparatively quiet celebrations. BJP MP Kirit Somaiya along with party MLA Ram Kadam broke a handi of corruption at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party chose to stay away from the celebrations for the day.
Apart from the political parties violating the SC orders, govinda groups participating in the festival chose various methods to protest against the apex court’s ruling.
In Dadar, the Jai Hanuman govinda group expressed protest by organising horizontal human pyramid on 9-tiers on road. As a mark of protest, MNS activists broke the handi by using a ladder, while at one places black flags were furled against the SC order.
