‘We weren’t allowed to wear full pants till Class 11’: Ajit Pawar on dress code row at Tuljapur temple

The Tulja Bhavani Temple administration in the state’s Osmanabad district recently prohibited the entry of devotees wearing half pants or “indecent” clothes, but reversed the decision following pushback from some quarters. As per the administration, the move was aimed at maintaining the sanctity of the religious place.

Ajit said people of different communities and regions in the state wear different clothes. “You cannot ask them to follow a dress code to visit religious places. This is why some people are stating that it is time that visionaries like Shahu-Phule-Ambedkar should be born again in the state. These visionaries broke narrow walls and opened the communities to broad and tolerant ideas,” he said.

Following the initial decision in Tuljapur, the Ranjangaon Ganpati Temple in Pune district reportedly moved to ban entry of devotees in western clothes. But after the backlash, the temple administration announced that no decision was taken in this regard while advising devotees to maintain decency while visiting the temple which is one of the Ashtavinayak Ganpatis in the state.