Dabholkar remark row: “Fadnavis intent is good, but…” son Hamid responds

His reaction followed comments made by Baramati MP Supriya Sule that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was “carrying forward the legacy” of Dr Narendra Dabholkar. Sule’s statement has drawn sharp rebuke from the Maharashtra Congress unit. The Congress said there can be no comparison between Narendra Dabholkar and Fadnavis.

“How can we talk about the legacy of Dr Narendra Dabholkar? We cannot draw a conclusion just from one case. In the Ashok Kharat case, the government has started taking action, but there is still a long way to go. We want to see what happens in the future. Whether the case is taken to its logical conclusion and whether those involved are punished,” Hamid Dabholkar said.

Hamid Dabholkar said they have given a list of self-styled godmen to the police, but there has been no action against them. “The police do not take action against such self-styled godmen. They continue to operate brazenly and mislead people. There is no dearth of such self-proclaimed godmen who are obviously making false claims on social media and are exploiting the gullible people in the state of Maharashtra. All this is in the public domain, and the government continues to remain silent,” he added.

As far as the Black Magic Act is concerned, Hamid Dabholkar said, “The Act came into being in 2013, but still the rules for implementing the Act have not been framed. This speaks poorly of the intention of the government… The government has not cited any reasons for the delay.”

Hamid Dabholkar also remarked that the state government had announced some time ago that every police station in the state would have a cell to deal with cases related to superstition. “But the announcement has remained on paper,” he added.

Hamid Dabholkar claimed that the government has also not set up tribunals to file complaints against false claims made on social media despite the Supreme Court issuing guidelines for the same a few years ago.

“In the light of all this, we need to understand the government’s full intention… We do not want to make any judgment based on one particular case. If the government takes long-term action, then we will welcome it. As of now, it does not seem to be doing so,” Hamid Dabholkar concluded.