Hyderabad: Flouting a ban imposed by the Telangana High Court, the Bhagyanagar Ganesh Utsav Samathi (BGUS) on Wednesday immersed Ganesh idols, which were made of plaster of Paris, in the Hussain Sagar lake.
“The ban is a sinister plan hatched by the state government against the Hindu community in this state. While authorities are diverting idols that are coming towards Hussain Sagar Lake, we went ahead and immersed the PoP idols in the lake,” Dr. Ravinutala Sasidhar, the secretary of BGUS, told Deccan Chronicle.
He warned the state government against imposing any restrictions on the immersion of Ganesh idols as it will lead to unrest in the state, and if any untoward incident takes place on the immersion day, the state government will be held responsible.
When he asked about the High Court ban on PoP immersion in the Hussain Sagar lake and other lakes, Sasidhar said, “When such a ban is imposed, why cannot the state government bring in an ordinance to overrule the verdict? For so many issues, the emergency Cabinet meetings are convened. So why can’t they do this in this case? Is the government following all the orders that are issued by the courts.”
“We have immersed idols today. Tomorrow also, we will bring out idols here and immerse them in the Hussain Sagar Lake. If the government tries to stop lakhs of people, we will take up civil disobedience in the Gandhian way.”
“If the government wants to project the Hindu devotees as anti-social elements, let them do it. We are here for peace. This is a part of our festival which we want to celebrate as usual.”
Compounding the confusion on the issue further, state government officials failed to discuss the situation arising out of the High Court ban at the coordination meeting conducted with the BGUS members.
Though hundreds of the Ganesh pandal organisers were present at the meeting, officials ignored the issue of the High Court ban, suggesting their intent to soft pedal on the issue in the wake of the forthcoming elections.
Officials, however, did not discuss the placement of cranes, which is a crucial element for the padal organisers.
