Appointment of noted author and environment activist Fr Francis Debrito as president of the upcoming Marathi literary meet has triggered a row with at least two office-bearers claiming to have received threat calls for removal of the Christian priest.
Akhil Bhartiya Sahitya Mahamandal (ABSM) chief Kautikrao Thale Patil and Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad working president Milind Joshi on Wednesday separately said they had received many "abusive and threatening" calls seeking cancellation of Debrito's appointment.
The 93rd All India Marathi Literary Meet is scheduled to be held at Osmanabad in Maharashtra on January 10, 2020.
Pune Police have provided security to a felicitation programme organised at the Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad office in Pune on Thursday to avoid any untoward incident, Joshi said.
"We are felicitating Father Debrito and to avoid any untoward incident during the event, as a precaution, we have written a letter to the Pune police seeking protection," he said, adding that the police have assured adequate protection.
Meanwhile, Thale Patil told PTI in Aurangabad that he had received around 35 calls against Debrito's appointment.
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"Some of the callers tried to threaten me. They are demanding removal of Debrito," Thale Patil added.
He said he was not aware about the religious affinity of the unidentified callers but is sure that they are "anti-Christians".
"I have not lodged a complaint with police yet but will surely do so if I keep receiving such calls. The present government has appointed Father Debrito as a language expert in a committee in the year 2015. I have heard that state minister Vinod Tawde has also congratulated Fr Debrito," he said.
Thale Patil said the members of ABSM unanimously selected Debrito as the president of the literary meet at the meeting held in Osmanabad on September 22.
"The meeting was attended by 17 out of 19 members of the AISM. The representative of Chhattisgarh conveyed his vote to Fr Francis Debrito in a written form. It was a democratic decision taken unanimously," Thale Patil said.
Drawing an analogy, he said sometimes people elected through general elections are not liked by everyone, "but that doesn't mean that the elected person should resign or be removed".
Fr Debrito (77), a resident of Vasai near Mumbai, was recently conferred prestigious Sahitya Akademi award for "Subodh Bible-Nava Karar", the Marathi translation of Bible-The New testament.
He regularly writes columns in Marathi newspapers.
Notably, the 92nd Marathi literary meet too was mired into a controversy after organisers withdrew invitation to noted author Nayantara Sahgal, who was supposed to inaugurate the event in Yavatmal, at the last moment.
Sahgal, a critic of Narendra Modi government, was at the forefront of the "award wapsi" campaign.