Hundreds rally through 3 villages for Sanatan ban in Goa

Over 400 people were part of a rally that traversed through the villages of Ramnathi, Bandora and Kavlem before terminating in a public meeting at the first village— Ramnathi—on Saturday evening.

The rally, organized by the newly formed Janajagruti Manch–Bandora (JMB), demanded that the government ban Sanatan Sanstha. The sanstha is suspected to be involved in the Margao bomb blast on the eve of Diwali in October.

Addressing the rally's participants who had come from across the state, renowned writer and dramatist Pundalik Naik wondered why the government was dilly-dallying on banning the sanstha.

"The (Goa) government banned the Ram Sene immediately after the incident (of women in pubs in Mangalore being attacked by Sene members). Why is it delaying on imposing a ban on Sanatan?" He also demanded that local MLA and transport minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar, clear his own and his wife's stands with regard to the organization.

Recalling home minister Ravi Naik's statement about Dhavalikar's wife playing a role in the sanstha, the writer appealed to the transport minister to explain this role. Alleging that the sanstha has "used people" for their selfish motives and has created divides on the basis of caste and religion, the writer claimed that educated people, who knew little else other than their own field of speciality, had been mesmerized by the sanstha.

Former ZP member and former supporter of MGP, Vinod Nageshkar, appealed to the government to investigate into the funds raised by the organization. Jawahar Barve, a social activist, demanded that the president of the sanstha, Jayant Athawale, be arrested immediately. The sanstha openly appeals to people to become naxalites, which is an offence, he claimed.