Shani Shingnapur villagers demand 'immediate' ban on Bhumata Brigade

There is seems to be no end to the worries of Bhumata Brigade led by activist Trupti Desai. A day after Desai and her brigade members were "detained" by the police when they tried to head in the direction of Shani Shingnapur village on Monday, the villagers have demanded that the CM ban the outfit.

Villagers under the banner of 'Shanaishwar Devsthan Bachav Kruti Samiti' on Tuesday met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking an immediate ban on the Pune headquartered organisation.

"Desai and her colleagues are harassing us by launching a movement to enter the village and the Shani temple every now and then, which creates huge sensation and media attention. We don't want to talk to them as they are agitating for a non-issue," Sambhajiraje Patil, chairperson of the Samiti told dna soon after meeting Fadnavis.

As part of the ongoing agitation demanding entry of women into the sanctum santorum of the Shani Shingnapur temple in Ahmednagar district, the Brigade had announced that it would be travelling to the spot to have a one-on-one dialogue with the villagers and temple trustees. Over 200 members of the brigade sought to do so on Monday but were stopped by the Ahmednagar police, who detained them for nearly two hours and later released them.

However, when they tried to head in the direction of the village again, the police stopped them and took them to Shirur taluka in Pune district, from where the Pune police escorted them back to the city.

The Samiti is not only opposed to the whole movement led by Desai, but is also opposed to the idea of deputing women priests along with the men at the Chabutara, a suggestion made by the Brigade to resolve the matter.
While Fadnavis could not be reached for his comment, Patil claimed that he has assured the delegation that he would look into its demand.

"We can't allow women priests inside. This has never happened here. We follow the Tirupati temple tradition, where women priests are not allowed. Why should we change the tradition? For the Chabutara issue, we have made it clear many times that neither men nor women are allowed to go there," Patil added.

The Shani Shingnapur controversy didn't reach any conclusion even after spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar's intervention early this month, bringing the temple trust and the Brigade together for discussion. After the government failed to take any stand and remained a mute spectator despite huge criticism by women activists and others, the matter landed up in court.

Sources said the Ahmednagar police has served a notice to Bhumata Brigade members, stating that if they go back to the village, they may be in danger. They also advised that the meeting with the trustees and villagers be held in another part of Ahmednagar district, rather than the Shani Shingnapur village.

Cops violated our rights and CM is mum over it: Trupti Desai
Trupti Desai too approached the CM office on Tuesday, a couple of hours after the Shani Shingnapur villagers met him seeking a ban on Bhumata Brigade. Desai, who was unaware of the villagers' demand until dna told her, was there to seek action on the Ahmednagar police. "The CM, who is also the home minister, has maintained a mysterious silence over the whole issue, despite rights of women being violated under his nose," she said.

"On Monday, the police arrested our team to stop us from visiting Shani Shingnapur, where we wanted to hold talks with the villagers and temple trust to find a solution. This is not only illegal, but also a violation of our rights to seek justice through a peaceful manner." She couldn't meet the CM till the time of going to press.

When asked about her reaction over villagers seeking a ban on her outfit, Desai said, "It's an attempt by men to silence women. Any such ban would be murder of democracy. The government will have to ban all such outfits who fight for justice for people." She added that if villagers don't want to talk to them, it's fine. "We will talk with the government to resolve the matter."