A conflict between the rationalists and tradition bound people over eating non-vegetarian food during the lunar eclipse turned the City High School road here a war field on Tuesday.
Tension gripped the venue of mass Biriyani lunch organised by rationalists as members of VHP and Bajrang Dal protested the action. The protestors threw cow dung at the people taking food.
Three days back, secretary of Ganjam Zilla Branch of Manavbadi Hetubadi Sangathan K Nandeshu Senapati had posted an open invitation in some social networking platforms for common public and mediapersons to join an awareness meeting and mass lunch of non-veg foods at the City High School road during the lunar eclipse. The venue is hardly 200 meters from the Town police station. The motto was to sensitise the public about various superstitions and wrong beliefs concerning the lunar eclipse.
According to the feast organisers, there should be no restrictions in taking foods on the day of lunar eclipse. They alleged that such food restrictions were imposed on the people by the traditionalists and orthodox people who oppose science and believe in traditions.
However, members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal along with Sevayats of different temples and some Hindu bodies’ leaders swiftly rushed to the venue and protested against the consumption of non-veg Biryani.
This led to a serious confrontation between the members of both groups. The agitators strongly protested and asked the rationalists to refrain from such anti-Hindu activities and not to hurt Hindu sentiments. When the situation became tense, police resorted to lathi-charge on the protestors to disperse the mob.
Later, the agitators sat on a dharna shouting slogans against the rationalists and describing the rationalists as Naxals. The VHP and the Bajrang Dal and the rationalists filed FIRs against each other.