DHAR : Prayers and namaz were performed peacefully at the disputed monument – Bhojshala – on Basant Panchami, even as members of a Hindu organisation performed the puja outside the monument here on Friday. No untoward incident was reported as the administration had converted the town, especially the areas around the disputed monument, into a virtual fortress.
The members of Bhoj Ustav Samiti (BUS), along with thousands of devotees, reached Bhojshala at around 7 am and decided to perform the puja outside Bhojshala without entering the shrine to have ‘dharshan’. District BJP president Dilip Patondia was seen preventing the devotes from entering the Bhojshala.
However, BUS members criticised the administration and state government for not accepting their demand to perform puja from dawn to dusk at Bhojshala on Basant Panchami. BUS leader Ashok Jain alleged that the authorities stage managed the government officials to offer puja inside the Bhojshala in order to portray that everything was normal, but in reality a large number of devotees offered puja outside Bhojshala.
While the administrative officials made announcements and appealed the devotees to go inside the Bhojshala to offer prayers, Hindu devotees were asked by the Dharm Jagaran Manch and Bhoj Utsav Samiti members from a public address system to visit the yagna held at the ‘havan kund’ outside the disputed shrine.
“We went inside Bhojshala to offer puja, but when we saw the security personnel inside the shrine with shoes on, we decided to leave the place and come outside. We later offered our puja at a site opposite to Bhojshala,” Dharm Jagran Manch’s district head Gopal Sharma said. District collector S Shukla said that 350 devotees have offered prayers at the temple inside Bhojshala on Friday.
A massive rally comprising 10-12000 youths was also organised by Dharm Jagaran Samiti which started from Motibagh and culminated at the shrine.
There was tension in the town for past few days ahead of the ‘Basant Panchami’ after Bhoj Utsav Samiti (BUS) leader Vijay Singh Rathore demanded that Hindus be allowed “dawn-to-dusk” access to perform puja at Bhojshala, despite an order issued by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) last month.
Considering the sensitivity of the issue, ASI had issued an order stating that on Vasant Panchami, Hindus will perform puja at Bhojshala from sunrise to 12 noon and from 3.30 pm to sunset, while Muslims will offer namaz between 1 pm and 3 pm.
Hindus consider Bhojshala as the temple of Goddess Wagdevi (Saraswati), whereas Muslims hail it as Kamal Moula mosque. In the normal course, Hindus are allowed to perform puja on Tuesdays, while Muslims offer namaz on Fridays. The structure is open to all on rest of the days. A similar crisis had erupted at the Bhojshala in 2003, 2006 and 2013, when Basant Panchami and Friday namaz coincided.
Shankarcharya of Sumery Swami Dayanand Saraswati arrived at the Bhojshsala around 11 am and blamed the state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and Congress leader Digvijay Singh for the Friday’s situation. Accompanied by scores of devotees Shankaracharya also staged a ‘dharna’ out side the disputed monument. He said that namaz should not be allowed at Bhojshala on Vasant Panchami. He also criticised the administration and the state government for taking an appalling attitude towards Hindu devotees.
