A view of
Credit: X/@peshwapooja
Mumbai: In what sparked off a controversy, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni led a demonstration and “purification” ritual at the famous Shaniwarwada Fort in Pune, a day after a video surfaced which showed a group of Muslim women offering namaz in the complex.
Built in 1732, the Shaniwarwada Fort was the seat of the Peshwas of the Maratha Empire until 1818.
Pune is considered Maharashtra’s cultural capital.
The fort itself was largely destroyed in 1828 by an unexplained fire, however, the surviving structure draws tourists.
The fort-complex is protected and managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
On Saturday, a video of some Muslim women offering namaz at the Shaniwarwada Fort went viral on social media platforms which was followed by condemnation by several Right-wing and Hindutva organisations like Sakal Hindu Samaj and Patit Pavan Sanghatana.
On Sunday, Dr Kulkarni, a Rajya Sabha MP and a former MLA, led a demonstration and her supporters cleaned the spot using gau-mutra (cow urine) and also performed Shiv Vandana as part of the ritual.
"Shaniwarwada is a historic site. It is a symbol of our victory, the center from which the Maratha Empire expanded from Attock to Cuttack. If someone comes here and recites Namaz, we will not tolerate it,” Kulkarni wrote on X and tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP national president and Union minister JP Nadda and state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan.
"Shaniwarwada is an ASI-protected historical monument. It is a symbol of Hindavi-swarajya founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We cannot allow anyone to offer namaz here. It is not a mosque,” she said.
The incident of "purification" received condemnation from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.
“Seeing Muslim women offering namaz in Shaniwarwada, the BJP workers sprinkled cow urine there. Does Shaniwarwada seem like a pilgrimage site to them? Has anyone stopped you from sitting there and doing jap of Ram, Ram, Ram?” asked Congress senior spokesperson Sachin Sawant.
However, BJP MLA and state Fisheries and Ports Minister Nitesh Rane said: “The Shaniwarwada is very close to the hearts of Hindus…tomorrow if Hindu organisations go to Haji Ali and chant Hanuman Challisa, how will you feel.”
"Insulting someone's worship in this manner is not even worthy of condemnation—it is a far more serious act. The Muslims of this very country prostrate on this very soil, but these hate-mongers do not like it,” said state Samajwadi Party chief and MLA Abu Asim Azmi.