Pune: Shaniwar Wada is an ASI-protected historical monument. It is a symbol of the Hindu world founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We will not allow anyone to offer namaz here, it is not a mosque, she said.
After a video of Muslim women offering namaz at Shaniwar Wada fort went viral, BJP workers led by Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni carried out a cleaning operation at Shaniwar Wada in Pune on Sunday.
Shaniwar Wada is a historical site. It is a symbol of our victory, the center where the Maratha empire expanded from Attock to Cuttack. If anyone comes and offers namaz here, we will not tolerate it, Medha Kulkarni wrote in an X and wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, BJP National President and Union Minister J.P. Nadda and state BJP chief Ravindra Chavan tagged him.
Shaniwar Wada is an ASI-protected historical monument. It is a symbol of the Hindu world founded by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We will not allow anyone to offer namaz here, it is not a mosque, he said.
The incident has led to widespread outrage, with leaders of various parties attacking the BJP. Ajit Pawar's NCP spokesperson Rupali Patil Thombre has urged the police to register a case against him for trying to "incite communal tension".
The BJP is raising the issue of Hindus and Muslims, but both communities live together in Pune in harmony, said Thombre. Shaniwar Wada belongs to all Punekars and not to any one group or religion, he said.
Maharashtra Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant expressed disbelief over the cleanliness protest, wondering why Shaniwar Wada was considered a pilgrimage site. Shaniwar Wada hosts dargahs from the Peshwa era. Sawant said the historical rulers had no dispute about it.
He expressed shock at the BJP's spraying of cow urine on Muslim women while they were offering namaz at Shaniwar Wada. Does Shaniwar Wada look like a pilgrimage site to them? Did anyone stop them from sitting there and chanting, senior Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant asked.
Samajwadi Party leader Abu Asim Azmi also condemned the incident and said that BJP MPs should fear Allah. This cannot be tolerated. Muslims in India have sacrificed their lives for the nation. Those who advocated for the British are now in power, treating Muslims this way. They will get a befitting reply for this.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered against a group of unidentified women who offered namaz at the fort based on a complaint filed by an Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officer, police said. Security has been beefed up at the fort.
Case registered against 3 women
A case has been registered against three women in connection with the incident. According to Pune city police, an FIR has been registered under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Rules, 1959, for allegedly violating restrictions applicable to protected monuments.