News Analysis India

Tag: Uttar Pradesh

  • Mamata Faces BJP Pressure To Announce Holiday In West Bengal For Ram Temple Event, TMC Calls It political stunt |

    New Delhi: West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar on Friday appealed to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to announce a holiday on January 22 so that the people of the state can join the festivities of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya. The central government offices, public sector banks, insurance companies, financial institutions and regional rural banks (RRBs) in the country will be closed for half a day on January 22. Some states, such as Assam and Odisha, which are neighbouring West Bengal, have also declared a half-day holiday for the occasion.

    Majumdar shared a letter he sent to the chief minister on X, saying “I have requested our Hon’ble CM @MamataOfficial (Mamata Banerjee) to kindly consider declaring 22nd January 2024 to be a school holiday, so that the youth of West Bengal gets to rejoice in the Ram Mandir consecration celebrations.”

    I have requested our Hon’ble CM @MamataOfficial to kindly consider declaring 22nd January, 2024 to be a school holiday, so that the youth of West Bengal gets to rejoice in the Ram Mandir consecration celebrations…#RamMandirPranPratishta #RamMandir pic.twitter.com/h4U4TagCKZ
    — Dr. Sukanta Majumdar (@DrSukantaBJP) January 19, 2024

    He mentioned that the chief minister has given holidays for many special events in the past. He added, “We think that the people of the state should also get the opportunity to participate in the Ram Temple inauguration. We request you to officially declare the day as a holiday.” The TMC leadership, however, expressed doubt over the significance of the date for the Ram temple inauguration.

    TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh asked, “Is there any specific date in the almanac or any other Hindu religious calendar where the auspicious date for Ram Temple inauguration is mentioned? Has Sukanta Majumdar become a priest? The event (Ram Temple inauguration) where many BJP leaders will be present is a political event before the Lok Sabha elections. We don’t mix religion with politics like the BJP.”

    Banerjee, who is also the head of the ruling TMC, will lead a ‘rally for harmony’ on January 22 from Hazra Crossing in south Kolkata to Park Circus, where she will also address a public meeting. She will begin the all-faith march after offering ‘puja’ at the ancient Kalighat temple, and visit places of worship of different religions along the way.

  • Lok Sabha Polls: Congress demands 20 seats in Uttar Pradesh; Samajwadi Party finds it ‘unreasonable’

    Congress has sought 20 of 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh from Samajwadi Party, a demand which the regional party found ‘unreasonable’. The two parties are likely to meet again on Thursday to take talks forward, according to some leaders.

    According to people present at the second formal round of seat-sharing talks on Wednesday, Congress and SP discussed a seat-sharing formula and agreed ‘winnability’ should be the main criterion for deciding which party gets which seat. Congress won only Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in 2019.

    A senior leader, who did not wish to be identified, told ET: “The exact number of seats were discussed. Congress has sought 20 seats. The list of seats was also discussed. Both parties have decided to meet again, and hold talks seat by seat.” There was no discussion on an alliance with BSP or RLD. A senior leader said, “RLD is Samajwadi Party’s ally. It is clear that any alliance talk of RLD will be with Samajwadi Party and not Congress.” RLD has already held talks with SP. Though Mayawati has announced that BSP would contest elections alone, Congress is keen on a grand alliance in UP because it feels that it is the only way the Opposition could give BJP a tough contest.In 2019, BJP secured 49.56% vote share, BSP 19.26%, SP 17.96% and Congress 6.31%. Though the influence of SP and BSP have declined considerably, a united Opposition could change the equation. Emerging from the meeting, senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid told journalists, “we held a good round of talks… We put forward our wish list before each other and compared the details of each seat with each other and we hope that from their side we will receive more feedback before we can reach a final discussion.” On questions regarding BSP’s inclusion, Khurshid said the leadership would handle it. He said Congress hoped that the alliance would be finalised before the Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra reaches UP.

    SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav said, “we have come halfway and will complete the entire journey soon.” UP Congress chief Ajay Rai and MLA Aradhana Mishra too joined the discussions. SP MP Javed Ali Khan, former SP MLC and a close aide of Akhilesh Yadav, Udaiveer Singh, and Ram Gopal Yadav represented SP. After the meeting with Congress, SP went into a huddle.

  • Ram Mandir inauguration: “People will reject them in upcoming elections,” Anurag Thakur slams Congress

    Union Minister Anurag Thakur slammed the Congress party for declining the invitation to attend the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, scheduled later this month and said that people too will “reject” them in the upcoming elections.

    Earlier on Wednesday, Congress declared that it would skip the massive inauguration ceremony being planned for the Ayodhya Ram Temple, saying it was a “political project” of the BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

    “Whenever Congress criticised Sanatana, whenever it insulted Hindus and whenever it questioned the existence of Lord Ram, we all have seen the condition of Congress after that,” Thakur told reporters on Thursday. He further asserted that Congress only boycotts the events, whether it is the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony of Ram Temple or anything else.

    “Whenever there is a Parliament session, Congress boycotts it. Whenever there is a speech by Modiji, Congress boycotts it. Whenever good work is done, Congress boycotts it. The people of the country will do the same thing by boycotting Congress in the next elections and will show the way out,” he added.

    Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav termed it unfortunate and claimed that the grand old party is insulting the ‘pran pratishtha’ ceremony.”This is very unfortunate. First, Congress created obstacles in (the construction) of Ram Temple. Now, they are insulting the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ ceremony. In a way, it has hurt the sentiments of the majority of the population of the country. Congress should apologise,” MP CM said. Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai said that the grand old party has rejected the invitation to the ‘pran pratishtha’ of Ram Temple, and people too will reject them.

    “This is wrong. They show double standards. They sometimes question the existence of Lord Ram and become ‘Chunavi Sanatani’ at other times…They have rejected the invitation to the ‘pran pratishtha’ of Ram Temple today, people too will reject them,” Chhattisgarh CM said.

    Madhya Pradesh Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya said that Congress always questioned the existence of Lord Ram.

    “Congress never looked at Lord Ram from the point of view of reverence, they said that he is imaginary so for them Lord Ram is not the centre of faith. This is an insult to the public sentiments of the country and the public will respond to it in the upcoming elections,” Vijayvargiya told on Thursday.

    Bihar BJP President Samrat Chaudhary also hit out at Congress and said that we are supporters of Sanatana Dharma, when Lord Ram is worshipped, BJP will stand.

    Meanwhile, RJD MP Manoj Jha said that Mahatma Gandhi did not become a devotee of Lord Ram by going to the temple but still he went to heaven.

    “It is wrong to do politics in the name of Lord Ram. There is a direct connection between me and Lord Ram. Gandhi did not become a devotee of Lord Ram by going to the temple, that concept was inside him, and that is why he went to heaven and went saying ‘Hey Ram’,” he added.

    Moreover, Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Rai said that said that all the Congressmen will visit Ayodhya on Makar Sankranti.

    “The name of Ram is the basis of life in this world. This Makar Sankranti, all of us Congressmen will go to Ayodhya from the state headquarters, Lucknow, to have darshan of Ramlala. We will also visit Hanuman Garhi and worship,” Rai posted on X.

    On Wednesday, senior Congress leaders–Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury–‘declined” the invitation for the grand event in Ayodhya.

    “Lord Ram is worshipped by millions in our country. Religion is a personal matter. But the RSS/BJP have long made a political project of the temple in Ayodhya. The inauguration of the incomplete temple by the leaders of the BJP and the RSS has obviously been brought forward for electoral gain. While abiding by the 2019 Supreme Court judgement and honouring the sentiments of millions who revere Lord Ram, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have respectfully declined the invitation to what is clearly an RSS/BJP event,” the Congress said in its statement.

    Preparations are underway in full swing for the Ram Temple ‘Pran Pratishtha’ on January 22, which will draw dignitaries and people from all walks of life.

  • Gaj Prastha, Doodheshwar Nath Nagar Or Harnandipuram: Civic Body Clears Proposal To Rename Ghaziabad

    During the meeting, three names — Gaj Prastha, Doodheshwar Nath Nagar or Harnandipuram — were finalised, which would now be sent to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

  • UP STF Arrests Two For Bomb Threat To Ram Temple, CM Yogi Adityanath

    A team of Uttar Pradesh’s Special Task Force arrested Tahar Singh and Omprakash Mishra from Vibhuti Khand area of Gomti Nagar in Lucknow, according to a statement.