Policemen posted at the disputed Idgah ground in Chamarajpet area of Bengaluru
Bangalore:
There was tight security at the Idgah ground in Hubli on Wednesday and a similar sight was witnessed in the state capital.
However, celebrations were in vogue with a four-feet Ganesh idol being installed in a pandal at the Hubli Idgah ground in northern Karnataka. Amidst Vedic chants, right-wing leader and Shri Ram Sena chief Pramod Muthalik offered special prayers to Lord Ganesha.
Photos of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar were prominent in the pandal.
For the next three days, the Ganesh idol will remain at the Hubli Idgah ground, as per the permission given by the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC), which was upheld by the Karnataka High Court.
In contrast, at Chamarajpet’s Idgah ground, at least 10 contingents of Karnataka State Reserve Police and senior police officers were deployed to ensure that no one other than them was there till the Ganesh festival was over.
We will not allow anyone here to disturb the peace. The order of the Supreme Court at Idgah ground in Chamarajpet (Bengaluru) will be strictly followed,” said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity.
The High Court on Tuesday allowed the conduct of Ganesh Puja and accordingly, Muthalik installed an idol of Ganesha under a pandal in Hubli in the morning.
However, the apex court did not allow Ganesh Puja at the Idgah ground in Bengaluru by ordering a status quo.
A Hindu Janajagruti Samiti member said, “In the next three days, we will continue to organize bhajans at the pandal (in Hubballi).”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)