Govt allows pro-Sanatan 'public' rally, but anti-Sanatan 'in private'
GOANEWS DESK, PANAJI | 10 October 2015 20:55 IST
Finally, anti-Sanatan and pro-Sanatan meetings would be held in Ponda on Sunday, but anti-Sanatan meeting in a private property without public address system.
The government authorities have allowed the National Hindu Movement to hold its demonstration at the Old bus stand in Ponda from 11 am onwards.
But permission to hold morcha and public meeting demanding ban on Sanatan Sanstha has been denied permission.
“I am given to understand that they are now planning to hold a meeting in private property without public address system. Since there is no section 144 imposed, we will allow it”, Ponda deputy collector Johnson Fernandes told goanews.com.
According to Fernandes, he had rejected permission to both ‘pro’ and ‘anti’ Sanatan rallies in Ponda, one was applied by Sanatan Sanstha and another one by Ramnath Yuvak Sangh, led by Saurabh Lotlikar.
The Sanatan rally was to come from Ponda new bus stand to Ramnathi between 11 am to 3 pm while Lotlikar’s rally was to be held at Ramnathi between 3 to 6 pm.
“Since both the groups were assembling at Ramnathi at around 3 pm, I denied permission to both”, said Fernandes.
The permission asked by National Hindu Movement was a third application, he claimed, which he allowed since it was a demonstration in Ponda town.
He had told yesterday to goanews.com that he had denied permission to the National Hindu Movement also.
Incidentally, the NHM leader who applied for permission, is Dr Manoj Solanki, one of the leaders of Sanatan Sanstha.
Why then the deputy collector did not allow the anti-Sanatan group to hold a public rally at Ramnathi in the afternoon since pro-Sanatan group was holding its demonstration in the morning, that too in Ponda?
“I rejected both the applications of Ramnathi rally and allowed Ponda demonstration. I don’t know who is leader of what”, said Fernandes.
