The court had ordered that Ganesh idols be made by using soil and natural colours and warned that criminal cases would be registered if anyone does not to follow the verdict.
Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray today said that his party will oppose the decision of the Bombay high court to impose a total ban on the use of Plaster of Paris (PoP) for making Ganesh idols.
"No one has the right to interfere in Hindu festivals. The decision banning use of PoP for Ganesh idols has hurt the Hindu sentiments. Shiv Sena will never tolerate this and will lead the fight against it," Thackeray said in the Sena mouthpiece Saamna today.
The ban was imposed by the Aurangabad division bench of the Bombay high court on Tuesday, following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Narendra Dabholkar, president of the Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS), in 2005.
The court ordered that Ganesh idols be made by using soil and natural colours and warned that criminal cases would be registered if anyone does not to follow the verdict.
Criticising the MANS, that works to curb superstitions, for filing the PIL, Thackeray said, "Who are these people and who gave them the right to interfere in Hindu religion. PoP idols cannot be the issue of superstition or environment. There is no question of harming environment since the immersion of these idols are not done in usable or potable water."
Thackeray also asked them to "fight to save Lavasa and Jaitapur if they are so concerned about the environment."
The Sena leader has convened a meeting of the Ganesh idol-makers on Saturday to decide the next line of action on the decision of the high court.
Thackeray's stand on the issue comes as a surprise as the Sena ruled BMC had initiated the use of eco-friendly Ganesh idols last year to reduce environment hazard of PoP idols.
Besides, the civic body also makes provision of artificial ponds for immersion every year to prevent the natural water-bodies from getting polluted.
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