NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) has repeatedly revealed its anti-Hindu face. In the latest instance, an NCP leader from Nagpur insulted Bhagwan Vitthal as Maharashtra geared to celebrate the important festival of Ashada Ekadashi. Incidentally, both Ekadashi and the Islamic festival Eid-al-Adah (Bakri Eid) fall on June 29 this year.

Nagpur NCP chief Duneshwar Pethe printed a calendar in which the image of Bhagwan Vitthal was superimposed with the picture of a goat and mosque. The calendar caused an uproar on social media (SM) following which Pethe issued a clarification saying it was an inadvertent mistake. BJP demanded filing an FIR against Pethe failing which they said they would stage a protest.

Bhagwan Vitthal is an avatar of Shri Hari Vishnu and the most revered deity of the Varkari Sampraday. Ashada Ekadashi is widely celebrated by Hindus in general and celebrated on a grand scale in Maharashtra’s Pandharpur. Hence, it is obvious that Pethe knew about the sentiments associated with it.

“An inadvertent mistake has been made during the printing of the annual calendars with both festivals falling on the same day. It is not for the purpose of hurting anyone’s feelings. I express my regret if the Varkari devotees’ feelings have been hurt. It is certainly a serious matter, so it is a humble appeal to everyone to not do politics over the festivals”, Pethe put out a post on SM. Even though the NCP leader said it was an inadvertent mistake, his ‘realization’ merely appears to be a reaction to the outrage.