‘Don’t buy Ganesha idols made by non-Hindu artisans’

NT Correspondent

 Bengaluru

After a series of rows over hijab and halal cut meat, a few pro-Hindu organisations have given a call to Hindus not to buy idols made and sold by non-Hindus which is likely to further dent the BJP image in a state which goes to polls in 8-10 months.With the Gowri-Ganesha festival to be held this month end, certain Hindu organisations have launched a campaign appealing to Hindus not to buy idols of Gowri and Ganesha prepared and sold by non-Hindus. Social media platforms are being used to spread this message to impose an ‘economic embargo’ on non-Hindus who are into idol making.

Leading this campaign is the Sri Rama Sena headed by Pramod Mutalik. This organisation has even asked Hindus not to buy decorative items from shops of non-Hindus who stock such decorative items much before the Gowri-Ganesha festival. Mutalik has asked Ganesha Utsav Committees of all districts to follow his instructions to teach a lesson to non-Hindu traders. The business of decorative items runs into several hundred crores every year.

This latest campaign has put the BJP in a fix as it is aware of people’s annoyance over the government’s inability to check the campaigns by Hindu organisations. Earlier, the BJP indirectly supported such campaigns as it helped in polarization of Hindu votes.