Overview

• Kulkarni marched into Pune’s Shaniwarwada with activists and performed a ‘purification’ ritual using cow urine before conducting Shiv Vandana.
• The action followed a viral clip showing six to seven Muslim women offering namaz inside the monument as other visitors moved about.
• Patit Pavan Sanghatna and other Hindu groups organised the demonstration after Kulkarni’s call to gather near Kasba Police Chowki.
• Kulkarni argued Shaniwarwada is an ASI-protected site and a symbol of Hindavi Swaraj, asserting it is not a place for namaz.
• The NCP, Congress and AAP condemned her move and sought a police case, while Congress leaders noted a nearby dargah exists with ASI permission; earlier, a Saras Baug row flagged by Kulkarni led to the park’s closure on Basi Eid.