Dahi Handi celebration: Is Devendra Fadnavis or Raj Thackeray the real boss of Maharashtra?

Time and again Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has shown utter contempt for the law and has in fact encouraged his party members to take law in their hands.

Updated: August 26, 2016 12:24 AM IST

By India.com News Desk

Dahi Handi celebration: Is Devendra Fadnavis or Raj Thackeray the real boss of Maharashtra?

Mumbai, Aug 25: Time and again Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has shown utter contempt for the law and has in fact encouraged his party members to take law in their hands. His decision to defy Supreme Court guidelines regarding human pyramid on the Dahi Handi celebration on Thursday on Janmashtami came as no surprise. But what was surprising was how Devendra Fadnavis government watched contempt of Supreme Court order as silent spectator as MNS workers strung a Dahi Handi over 40 feet from the ground in Thane. ALSO SEE: Dahi Handi LIVE From Thane & Mumbai: Watch Live Telecast & Streaming of Dahi Handi 2016 Celebration

MNS chief Raj Thackeray had told workers of his party that the festival, which celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna, should be observed “the way it’s meant to be.” It seems that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis led Maharashtra government has no control. No action has been taken so far against Raj Thackeray or his party workers for violating law. Devendra Fadnavis was seen helpless earlier in the past when concerts of renowned Pakistani ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali in Mumbai and Pune were cancelled despite chief minister’s assurance of adequate security. That time Shiv Sena acted as extra-constitutional authority and Fadnavis government could do nothing. ALSO READ: Dahi Handi 2016: Raj Thackeray defies Supreme Court order, Govindas to form 49-feet human pyramid in Thane

Similarly, the right-wing party had blackened the face of Sudheendra Kulkarni, chairman of the Observer Research Foundation in Mumbai, ahead of the launch of Neither a Hawk Nor a DoveAn Insider’s Account of Pakistan’s Foreign Relations authored by former Pakistan foreign minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri. At time too, CM Devendra Fadnavis had given assurance of security for the launch event.

After Supreme Court’s decision on human pyramid on Dahi Handi, the state government urged people to adhere Supreme Court’s guidelines while celebrating the festival. But MNS workers flouted the norms in broad daylight. Does this mean that MNS has the authority to break laws under Fadnavis government? Does it mean Fadnavis’ words have no value before Raj Thackeray’s diktat? The Thane incident made it clear that the MNS workers didn’t take even Supreme Court’s order seriously. For them, orders come only from their boss, Raj Thackeray, who seems to be the real boss of Maharashtra.

Despite the apex court order to not exceed the height of human pyramid from 20 feet, an MNS leader along with party workers strung up a Dahi Handi over 40 feet high from the ground. Avinash Jadhav, an MNS worker, organized a Dahi Handi competition at Thane and hung the clay pot at 49 feet, more than double the permissible height. Jadhav also sported a T-shirt, that said, “Hoye me kayada madnaar (I will break the law)”. The Supreme Court order was kept aside and Maharashtra government and Mumbai police were just a silent spectator.

A day before Dahi Handi celebration, the Supreme Court upheld the Bombay High Court order and rejected plea seeking relaxation in conditions put by the Bombay High Court like barring youths below 18 years of age from participating in Dahi Handi festival in Maharashtra and capping the height of the human pyramid at 20 feet. The apex court made it very clear that youth below 18 won’t participate in making human pyramid and the human structure could not cross 20 feet in height. Despite court’s clear order, Raj Thackeray’s MNS violated the law and strung up the clay pot at 49 feet.

A plea was filed by Mumbai-based Jai Jawan Krida Mandal Govinda Pathak,that argued that now that the youth below 18 years of age have been barred from participating in the Dahi Handi ritual, the cap on the height of the human pyramid should be relaxed as adventure is part of every sport. Appearing for the Maharashtra government and stating that he was not supporting the applicant Trust, Additional Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench: “If height is fixed, then this sport (Dahi Handi) will lose meaning.” Telling the court that though Dahi Handi festival had religious connotations associated with Lord Krishna, Dutta said that now it has attained the “flavour of sport”.

“No, we are not modifying it for the time being,” a bench comprising justices A R Dave, U U Lalit and L Nageswara Rao said while declining the plea. At the outset, the bench did not agree with the contention that the festival had the colour of popular sport and there should be no cap on the height of the pyramid in view of the fact that the court has already barred youth below 18 years of age from taking part in it. “Has it (festival) brought any medal in the Olympic? I belong to the city (Mumbai). I would have been happy if it had brought any medal,” Justice Dave said, adding that this ritual sometimes caused serious injuries to participants, particularly in organs like the spinal cord.

But Mr Raj Thackeray will do whatever he wants to do. It shows what kind of faith and respect he has for courts.

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