Overview
- Sharad Pawar, in an article circulated Saturday at a Delhi literary conference, alleged that regressive forces now shape about 60% of Warkari preaching and said his camp is compiling a list of such voices.
- Devendra Fadnavis rejected the assessment and praised the sect’s inclusive ethos while claiming some entrants with alleged Urban Naxal links were refused by Warkaris and that the government holds dossiers on them.
- BJP and Shiv Sena figures, along with the National Warkari Council and BJP spiritual wing head Tushar Bhosale, condemned Pawar’s remarks as an insult to a devotional community.
- Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant on Sunday backed Pawar’s warning and said divisive preachers and self‑styled godmen are trying to sway the sect’s discourse.
- News reports present claims and counterclaims without independent proof of Pawar’s 60% estimate or the government’s dossiers, a gap that matters given the Warkari tradition’s long role in egalitarian Bhakti practice centered on Pandharpur.