For a second day, the BJP protested outside the Hubballi Dharwad Municipal Corporation commissioner’s office on Friday, calling for authorization to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi beginning on September 19 in the Idgah Maidan. Hubbali-Dharwad West’s incumbent BJP MLA Aravind Bellad is in charge of the sit-in protest. Bellad, the mayor of Hubbali-Dharwad West, Veena Bhardwaj, and other BJP leaders staged a ‘dharna’ (sit-in) outside the office of the municipal commissioner on Thursday to demand approval to host Ganesh celebrations on the Idgah Maidan.
The BJP member of the Hubli Dharwad Central Vidhan Sabha Constituency, Mahesh Tenginakai, also participated in the sit-in protest on Friday.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Bellad said the idol of Lord Ganesha will be installed at the Idgah Maidan even if the civic body denies permission to hold the festivities there.
Last year, the Karnataka High Court allowed Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations to be held at the Maidan, ruling that since the ground was a property of the Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation, it could allot the land to whoever it wanted to.
Meanwhile, a petition filed by Anjuman-e-Islam, a Muslim body, seeking a stay on the earlier order, allowing the celebration of Ganesh Chaturthi at the Idgah Maidan, will come up for hearing at the high court on Friday.
If the civic nod comes through, this year will mark the first time that Ganesh Chaturthi will be celebrated on the Idgah Maidan.