A group of individuals led by ‘kirtankar (devotional preacher)` Sangram Bhandare allegedly poured ink on NCP (SP) Spokesperson Vikas Lawande in Pune district on Saturday, accusing him of targeting prominent spiritual leaders, news agency PTI reported.
A video of the incident from Mhatobachi Alandi in Haveli tehsil has gone viral on social media. It shows Bhandare and his supporters approaching Lawande and demanding an explanation over his “infiltrator” remarks.
In the video, Bhandare is seen pouring ink on Lawande while saying, “If you wanted to call someone an infiltrator, you should have called me that. You should not have dared to call our gurus infiltrators; they are everything to us.”
Bhandare also allegedly warned Lawande of serious consequences if he continued to speak against the spiritual leaders.
Lawande has recently criticised leaders such as Dhirendra Krishna Shastri, Kali Charan, Pradeep Sharma and Swami Anand Swaroop, calling them “infiltrators” from North India brought into Maharashtra by the BJP and RSS.
He alleged that these leaders were “Manuwadi” figures sent to undermine the traditional teachings of Maharashtra’s saints. He also accused them of insulting revered figures such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Gautam Buddha to create communal divisions in society.
Following the incident, Lawande approached the Loni Kalbhor police station.
“Sangram Bhandare and 10-15 individuals, claiming to be cow vigilantes, arrived in several vehicles,” Lawande said.
“Around 10 am, as I was returning from a discourse, they intercepted my car, manhandled me, and brandished a pistol before fleeing,” he alleged.
Lawande said he would remain at the police station until the Pune Police commissioner initiated legal action against those involved in the incident.
Later, Bhandare said on social media that the ink incident was a “protest” against Lawande’s “unfounded allegations” against Hindu spiritual leaders of the Warkari movement. He denied allegations that a pistol was involved and termed the claim “baseless”.
NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar condemned the incident and questioned why individuals claiming to represent the peaceful Warkari movement would resort to “profane language” and “physical force”.
He also questioned why the “attackers” remained silent when “Bageshwar Dham Sarkar allegedly made insulting remarks about Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Nagpur”.
Earlier, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, in a magazine article, had expressed concern that regressive elements had entered the Warkari tradition in recent times and that discourses by some preachers were encouraging religious fanaticism.
However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had rejected the remarks, saying the article was completely wrong and reflected a lack of understanding of the tradition.
The term ‘Warkari’ refers to devotees of Lord Vitthal of Pandharpur who undertake an annual pilgrimage on foot to the temple town. The centuries-old tradition has inspired renowned Bhakti poets such as Tukaram and Namdev.
(With PTI inputs)