A Christian pastor in Andhra Pradesh had raised objected to the celebration of Ganesh Chathurthi after which it was stopped. This incident of bigotry took place in Srinivasa Colony, Srungavarapukota, Vizianagaram where the local pastor was incensed and raised objections against the celebration of Ganesh Chathurthi.
It all started when Hindu youths in the town decided to set up a pandal so Hindus could celebrate and worship Lord Ganesha for the nine-day-long annual ritual. It was a moment of happiness as people from the community got together to celebrate the festival with devotion, reverence, and peace in their hearts.
However, the local pastor reportedly complained to the police so they could prevent Hindus from putting up the pandal and strongly insisted that no Hindu religious rituals or ceremonies take place in that vicinity. This has left the Hindu community feeling aggrieved and helpless as they alleged that the pastor violated their fundamental rights by disrupting the annual event.
Pastor's complaint halts Ganesh Chathurthi celebrations in Srungavarapukota, Vizianagaramhttps://t.co/ELRSWsfGjb
— HinduPost (@hindupost) September 20, 2023
The Ganesh Chathurthi festival is a very important religious event as Lord Ganesha is considered as the god who clears obstacles and paves the way for us to move forward in life. In the Hindu Puranas, the large elephant head of Lord Ganesha symbolizes wisdom, understanding, and a discriminating intellect that one must possess to attain perfection in life.
As per reports, the pastor regularly employs loudspeakers to deliver Christian sermons and religious messages on Sundays, disrupting the entire locality. However, this blatant, capricious, and malicious attempt by this Christain Pastor has left many Hindus in this area despondent. After the complaint was raised, the police took action against the youth who set up the pandal and were told to come to the police station. The situation was further exacerbated when elders from the colony intervened and approached the police station to address the issue. Seeing how the situation has now turned, the police changed their stance and said the organisers must refrain from using loudspeakers during the celebrations.
But the problem did not end there for the Hindus after the youths were once again summoned to the police station, and were told categorically not to proceed with the pandal setup. The reason given was that it was unsafe for them to continue their preparations and that left the Hindu community disheartened and disconcerted, as their religious freedom was being curtailed.
Just one pastor is making the entire Hindu community fall on their knees.
— Tathvam-asi (@ssaratht) September 19, 2023
This bl00dy past0r didn’t like the Ganesh Pandal being set up in the village and objected to 9days of #VinayakaChavithi celebrations.
He complained to police that they should not setup pandal and no pooja… pic.twitter.com/iZBwGtwgbs
As the Hindus struggled to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, they found support from the Vizianagaram Zila Adhyaksha of Adibatla Sri Kalapeetham, Shri Prakash Sharma, who stepped in to support the Hindu youths who were under siege.
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