Overview

• Bhilwara organisers introduced Aadhaar verification at entry, enforced traditional dress, and said venues would be sprinkled with Ganga water and cow urine under oversight by VHP and Bajrang Dal volunteers.
• Right-wing groups in Bhilwara placed banners barring people from “other communities,” applied tilak at gates, and said checks aim to curb what they allege as “love jihad.”
• In Bhopal, a local outfit displayed banners stating “Entry of Jihadis strictly prohibited” and set conditions including tilak, sacred thread, Aadhaar checks, consuming Ganga jal or cow urine, and paying respects to the goddess.
• Senior BJP figures in Madhya Pradesh, including Usha Thakur, Anil Firojiya and Rameshwar Sharma, backed traditional dress codes, ID checks and excluding non-Hindus from garba venues.
• Khandwa police instructed organisers to keep events strictly traditional with no obscenity or Bollywood songs, as Union minister Ramdas Athawale and Congress leaders condemned the exclusionary push.