Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) took a jibe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) following a surprisingly low turnout at the inauguration event of Union Minister Smriti Irani in Pune on Sunday. Irani's visit was intended to mark the commencement of the 'Do Dhage Sri Ram Ke Liye' campaign, a collaborative initiative by the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Tirath Kshetra and the Heritage Handweaving Revival Charitable Trust.
The 13-day campaign aims to involve nearly 10 lakh people in weaving vastras (clothes) for Ayodhya's Ram Lalla, predominantly crafted from silk and adorned with silver zari. The event unfolded at a handloom store near Goodluck Chowk in Shivajinagar, with plans for Irani to address the gathering at the Modern College Ground. However, due to the sparse attendance, Irani opted not to deliver her scheduled speech and departed for Mumbai.
Shiv Sena (UBT) seized the opportunity to mock the BJP, highlighting the apparent lack of audience at Irani's speech. The party tweeted, "Empty chairs at the public meeting of BJP leader and Union Minister Smriti Irani in Pune. And yet, BJP claims about winning Maharashtra."
Anagha Ghaisas, the organizer of the campaign, expressed enthusiasm about engaging the community in weaving "do dhage" (two threads) for Ram Lalla over the next 13 days. Ghaisas emphasized the campaign's dual purpose of involving citizens in this sacred work while promoting the art of handloom. She stated that handloom requires skills akin to engineering, highlighting its significance.
"Our intention is also to promote handloom for which I have been working for a long time. Handloom isn't easy; it requires mathematical precision, patience, and science, so it is no less than any engineering," added Ghaisas. Each handloom installed for the campaign has an expert to guide individuals interested in weaving, further enriching the experience for participants. The event's low turnout, however, has become a subject of political banter, with Shiv Sena using it to question the BJP's claims in Maharashtra.