The judges said that they were not against any religious programme, but only concerned with government agencies associating with it. (File photo)
Highlights
- Municipal corporation, run by BJP, rebuked by court
- Can't link religious program with AIDS awareness event: Court
- Religious programmes as government events are not ok: Court
A plan to have the "Hanuman Chalisa" recited at an AIDS-awareness program in Nagpur tomorrow provoked this response from the Bombay High Court: "Is India for Hindus only?"
The Nagpur Municipal Corporation had organized the event in association with a local temple trust. "Why only recital of Hanuman Chalisa and why not from the Quran, the Bible or other religious literature? What is the nexus of AIDS awareness and Hanuman Chalisa recital? Is it only Hindus who contract AIDS?" the judges asked.
The municipal corporation in Nagpur is run by the BJP. The agency has agreed to delink the two events by keeping at least an hour between the AIDS awareness programme and the Hanuman Chalisa recitation, which over 1.5 lakh people are expected to attend.
The judges based in Nagpur said that they are not against any religious programme, but are concerned about government agencies associating with these.
The court further directed to ensure that separate banners are put up backstage during both the programmes, with the individual names of organisers.
The corporation was also asked to give wide publicity to its AIDS awareness programme, without mentioning the Hanuman Chalisa event.