CH NEWS, VIJAYAPURA
Swami Vivekananda Sena State President Raghav Annigeri has appealed to Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to facilitate the peaceful, meaningful and grand celebration of the upcoming Ganesh festival across Karnataka. In a memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister, Annigeri recalled the historical role of Lokmanya Bal GangadharTilak in popularising public Ganesh celebrations during the freedom struggle to unite people and foster patriotism.
The Sena urged the government to avoid unnecessary restrictions and provide full cooperation for peaceful celebrations and social programmes. It also proposed introducing a state-level “Best Ganesh Mandal” award to honour 25 mandals that promote social welfare, communal harmony and eco-friendly celebrations. It further urged the government to frame people-friendly guidelines for processions and religious programmes, with restrictions limited to those essential for public safety and traffic management. At the same time, Annigeri called for stringent legal action against anti-social elements who deliberately attempt to disturb communal harmony, indulge in violence, damage public property or disrupt law and order during the festival. TheSena also demanded a strict policy to withdraw government schemes, subsidies and other benefits from persons whose involvement in illegal activities and disturbance of public peace is legally established. Annigeri said the government should respect the religious sentiments of the people while ensuring public safety and maintaining law and order.
