PONDA: A public meeting held at Ramnathi on Sunday raised suspicion over ‘closed-door’ working of Sanatan Sanstha and unanimously demanded a ban on it. BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh was to attend the meeting as a key speaker, but skipped it.
Several speakers at the meeting termed the Sanstha as ‘anti-social’. Stating that Sanatan is a pro-Brahmin organisation, Jawahar Barve of Rashtra Seva Dal challenged the founder of the Sanstha Dr Jayant Athavale for a face-to-face debate on supremacy of Constitution of India and Sanatan dharma. He said it is an open challenge and asked the Sanstha chief to get five of his followers and that he would bring his five people to have a fair debate.
Barve likened the Sanatan Sanstha to the 18th century ‘Dharma Sabhas’ in India, where the people from upper castes used to conduct trials and deliver judgments. These judgments were mostly in favour of higher class and against the poor, he said.
Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco demanded that the sources of income of the Sanstha be investigated.
Environmentalist Ramesh Gawas criticised the state government for not banning the Sanstha. Govind Gaude expressed his apprehensions that the Sanstha may attack the chief minister and therefore, needed to be banned.
Labour union leaders Christopher Fonseca, Raju Mangeshkar and others also called for a ban on the organisation.
Ramnath Yuva Sangh president Sourabh Lotlikar threatened that there would be another agitation, like that of anti-Nylon 6,6, in Keri-Ponda against the Sanatan. He said the dates would be declared later.
While National Hindu Movement in a demonstration staged at Ponda bus stand on Sunday morning claimed that the Sanstha is a spiritual organisation and appealed not to make it a ‘sacrificial lamb’.
Hindu Janajagruti Samiti had organised the demonstration in support of the Sanstha.
Alleging that some anti-Hindu forces, so-called progressive elements and political parties lack confidence in judiciary, the movement claimed that these are clamouring for imposing a ban on Sanstha even before the police and the court of Law can arrive at a conclusion in Pansare’s murder.