Grants permission to National Hindu Movement to hold demonstration
sanatan ban turmoil
One rally gets go ahead; two denied permission
RYS and Sanatan rally routes were the same in Ramnathi
PONDA
Confusion prevailed over the three proposed rallies to be held on Sunday in Ponda taluka, after two rival groups were denied permission to stage their rallies at Ramnathi while a third group was allowed to hold its rally at Ponda.
While granting permission to National Hindu Movement (NHM) to hold its demonstration in Ponda in support of Sanatan Sanstha, the Ponda Deputy Collector has warned Ramnath Yuwa Sangh (RYS) members of arrest if they hold their rally against Sanatan at Ramnathi.
Sanatan has also been prohibited by the Deputy Collector from staging its rally at Ramnathi.
While Sanatan had sought permission to stage its rally from Ponda to Ramnathi from 11 am to 3 pm on Sunday, RYS president Saurabh Lotlikar had sought permission to hold its rally from Ramnathi to Ponda from 3 pm and 6 pm.
Justifying his decision to prohibit the rallies by RYS and Sanatan, Ponda Deputy Collector Johnson Fernandes said both rival groups had planned to hold their rallies along the same route, thereby creating the possibility that both groups could clash with each other.
“I have not given permission to either Sanatan or RYS to stage their rallies, as both organisations wanted to organise their rallies along the same route. Permission has, however, been only given to National Hindu Movement to demonstrate at Ponda,” clarified Fernandes.
Asked if Section 144 had been imposed in Ramnathi given the possible tension in the area, Fernandes replied in the negative.
“I have not given permission to anyone to hold a meeting in Ramnathi. If he (Lotlikar) holds the meeting, we will arrest him right away,” warned Fernandes.
When contacted, Dr Manoj Solanki of NHM said their meeting will be held in Ponda as scheduled, since they had been given permission for the rally.
Mindful of possible tension in Ponda and Ramnathi, Ponda Police Inspector Sudesh Naik said measures have been initiated to maintain law and order.
“We have apprised our superiors about the situation and we will deploy police teams to handle any possible law and order situation,” said PI Naik.
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We will hold meet privately: RYC chief
Reacting angrily after being denied permission to hold his rally at Ramnathi on Sunday evening, Ramnath Yuwa Sangh (RYS) President Saurabh Lotlikar threatened to hold the meeting at some place in Ramnathi.
“I will not step back and we will hold the meeting. But instead of holding it in a public place, we will hold the meeting at a private place. The deputy collector's office has not clarified about the cancellation of our meeting and it has only cancelled our rally on the pretext that Sanatan Sanstha had also sought permission to hold the rally along the same route,” Lotlikar told 'The Goan.'
“BJP MLA Vishnu Wagh, Congress MLA Alex Reginald Lourenco, trade union leaders Christopher Fonseca, Raju Mangeshkar, Suhas Naik, AAP leader Valmiki Naik, Swati Kerkar, noted writers Nagesh Karmali, Pundalik Naik, N Shivdas, environmentalists Ramesh Gawas and many others will remain present for the meeting,” he said.
“I appeal to the people to join our meeting and support us in our efforts to demand a ban on Sanatan Sanstha,” Lotlikar added.
Meanwhile, RYS received a major boost when Janjagruti Manch Bandora (JMB), another organisation from Bandora, also voiced its opposition to Sanatan. JMB has appealed to ministers and MLAs not to support Sanatan in any way.
