The party’s Pune unit president Prashant Jagtap said NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who had come here to visit the famous Dagdusheth Ganapati temple, had darshan of the deity from outside the premises as he had a non-vegetarian meal.
Pawar had come to the city on Friday to inspect the land adjoining the Dagdusheth Ganapati temple, amid a long-standing demand for handing over the land to the temple trust.
This land belongs to the state home department, which is currently headed by NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil. Questions arose about Pawar not entering the temple premises and having darshan from outside. However, while talking to reporters in the evening, Jagtap clarified about this.
“He (Pawar) had planned to go to the temple. However, he preferred to have darshan from outside as he ate non-vegetarian food,” said Jagtap.
He said, “Pawar sahib told me that since he had a non-vegetarian meal earlier in the day, he felt it was not appropriate to go inside the temple, and instead have darshan from outside.”
When Deputy Chief Minister and senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who was in the city, was later asked about it, he said, “Why are such questions being asked? If he goes for darshan then questions are asked and if he does not come then he is called an atheist.
“Sometimes people eat non-vegetarian food, but do not tell others about it and go inside the temple to have darshan, while some people tell it openly. Darshan can also be done from outside the temple. Due to restrictions amid the pandemic, people used to have darshan from the steps of the temple itself,” he said.
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