‘Challenge to Bahujan pride’: BJP’s Medha Kulkarni draws ire over rituals at Pune’s Phule Wada

Written by: MANOJ MORE

3 min readPuneUpdated: Jul 1, 2026 02:04 PM IST

Medha Kulkarni performed Vat Purnima rituals at Pune’s historic Mahatma Phule Wada. (Photo by special arrangement, enhanced with AI)

The BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni on Monday performed Vat Purnima rituals—which involve women worshipping the banyan tree and praying for their husbands’ long life—at Pune’s historic Mahatma Phule Wada, where the social reformer and his wife had stayed, drawing strong objection from Other Backward Classes (OBC) and Bahujan activists.

The critics said the place was where Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule had spent their lives ”fighting against rigid and discriminatory traditions of Sanatanist orthodoxy”. They alleged that Kulkarni’s was not merely a personal celebration of a festival, but a deliberate political and social manoeuvre.

”While worshipping a banyan tree on Vat Purnima is a matter of personal faith, what is the exact intent of Medha Kulkarni behind choosing the Mahatma Phule Wada—a site that taught the nation equality and rationality and where the Satyashodhak Samaj (Truth Seekers’ Society) was founded?” asked Vishal Jadhav, working president of the OBC Sangharsh Samiti.

The activists asked whether Kulkarni could not find any other place in Pune for her Vat Purnima worship.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Jadhav said, “Medha Kulkarni is an educated MP. Why is she trying to spread superstitious beliefs? And that too by going to the historic Mahatma Phule Wada from where the social reformer started his campaign to rid people of regressive mindsets, outdated ideals, and superstitious beliefs. The MP lives in the Kothrud area. Why did she come all the way to Ganj Peth? The MP’s behaviour is an open challenge to the pride of the Bahujan community and the progressive ideology of the Phule couple.”

Ananda Kudale, president of the Dnyanjyoti Savitribai Phule Smarak Samiti, said the BJP MP’s action proved that some in Pune still consider the Manusmriti to be their constitution.

”History bears witness to the fact that when Mahatma Phule and Savitribai Phule opened the doors of education for the marginalised and women, the contemporary orthodox elements vehemently opposed their work and ideologies,” Kudale said.

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Jadhav said such methods are being adopted to diminish their revolutionary legacy “because open opposition is no longer possible”.

”This is nothing but a deliberate attempt to ‘Sanatanize’ a sacred ground of revolution. It is the height of ingratitude to bring the very traditions that Mahatma Phule fought against his entire life into his own historic home,” he said.

The critics warned that the Bahujan community would teach a lesson at the right time to such elements who are attempting to create ideological terror in progressive Maharashtra.

Medha Kulkarni says this was not the first time

When contacted by The Indian Express, Medha Kulkarni said the event was organised by local women and activists and not her. “Where I am invited, I attend those events. I want to emphasise that this event was not organised by me. Even otherwise, I had performed the rituals at the wada last year as well,” she said.

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Kulkarni said, ”Even the Archaeological Survey of India had given permission for the event. Actually, it is not a question of permission. Something that has been going on for years continues every year. Such traditional activities have been continuing at several places in the state.”