As part of the State-wide call, the district leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) staged a demonstration at the Sub-Collector’s office here on Monday, demanding that the State government accord permission for the community-level celebration of ‘Vinayaka Chaturthi’ by strictly adhering to the COVID-19 norms.
The leaders decried the ‘unilateral’ decision taken by the government without consulting the elected representatives from the political spectrum.
“This is the only festival that is celebrated at the community level for nine days by erecting pandals and installing Ganesh idols. It is unwarranted to totally ban such events citing the threat of COVID-19, when the government allowed buses, trains, gymnasiums and cinemas to function normally,” said party’s State official spokesperson Samanchi Srinivas.
“Any Hindu festival can be conducted as a private affair, but the administrators know that it is not practically possible to conduct Vinayaka Chaturthi at home, as it ends with immersion of the idol in a water body,” party State secretary K. Uma said.
Procession carried out
In Ongole, BJP activists staged a demonstration in front of the Prakasam Bhavan here and came in a procession carrying Ganesh idols to the Church Centre demanding that the State government relax the restrictions imposed to combat COVID-19 during the nine-day Ganesh Chavithi celebrations.
In Chittoor, Bharatiya Janata Party activists submitted a memorandum to the Revenue Divisional Office demanding lifting of restrictions.
In Anantapur, BJP State official media representative Duddakunta Venkatewara Reddy, along with ten other party members, sat on a hunger strike opposite the Municipal Corporation Building from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. protesting against the State government’s decision to disallow public celebrations of the festival.
