Mumbai, Aug 6 (PTI) The BJP alleged on Thursday that the police stopped its workers in some parts of Maharashtra from celebrating the `bhoomi pujan' ceremony for Ram temple in Ayodhya.

The party also targeted its former ally, the ruling Shiv Sena, saying it had abandoned the path of "Ram Rajya".

Also Read | Mumbai Reports 910 New COVID-19 Cases: Live News Breaking And Coronavirus Updates on August 6, 2020.

"The real nature of the Shiv Sena, which has been claiming that it has not abandoned Hindutva after joining forces with the Congress, came to the fore with these actions.

"It has given up the path of `Ram Rajya' for power and accepted `Mughal rule'," state BJP chief spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said.

Also Read | 'Tharoorosaurus': Shashi Tharoor's Latest Book Is Collection of 'Quirky' Words And Stories Behind Them.

The BJP had asked its workers to observe social distancing norms in view of the coronavirus pandemic, but the police tried to stop them from celebrating the Ayodhya event on Wednesday, he alleged.

Party workers were not allowed to distribute laddoos in Pimpri-Chinchwad near Pune, he alleged.

In Amravati and Akola districts party workers were threatened with police cases and they also faced action in parts of Nashik, Beed, Satara and Solapur, Upadhye claimed. PTI ENM KRK KRK 08062101 NNNNlogical situation and the damage which has been wrought by the pandemic in Russia and the wider world," he said Thursday.

The fine was imposed in March over a case involving allegedly forged medical documents to give an athlete an alibi for not being available for drug testing, under Yurchenko's predecessor Dmitry Shlyakhtin.

On behalf of the federation, Yurchenko in March admitted charges that it broke anti-doping rules in that case. Disciplinary charges filed against Shlyakhtin and six other people by the Athletics Integrity Unit remain unresolved.

When World Athletics issued the fine in March, Yurchenko pledged that the federation, known as RusAF, would make every effort to pay. He later said it could not afford the payments.

RusAF itself has been under suspension from World Athletics since 2015 over widespread doping. That forces its athletes to register for neutral status to compete outside their home country. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)