The Union Minister of State for Social Justice, Ramdas Athavale, in a letter to the Maharashtra Governor, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, has demanded that all places of worship in the state should be opened.

In a media statement, Athavale said that after the Covid pandemic was declared in March, places of worship across the country were closed. The lockdown was clamped as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. Today, there is enough awareness about the pandemic and the process of unlocking economic activities has commenced. Therefore, places of worship should also be opened up.

Recently, leaders of the Muslim community met Athavale, who is also the national president of the Republican Party of India (A), demanding that mosques across the state should be opened. The community leaders said that the Bombay High Court had recently allowed Jains to keep their temples open for two days in a week, the statement said. Athavale added that all places of worship should follow rules regarding wearing of masks, use of sanitizers and physical distancing.

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