I was asked to specify caste in Gujarat temple: Kumari Selja

November 30, 2015

New Delhi, Nov 30: Congress leader Kumari Selja today created a stir in the Rajya Sabha by claiming that she was asked about her caste when she had visited Dwarka temple in Gujarat as a Cabinet Minister, leading to arguments between the ruling and opposition sides.

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"I am dalit, but I am Hindu. I feel like visiting temples. I wanted to go to Dwarka temple. I have visited hundreds of temple. (I visited) Dwarka temple, I was Cabinet Minister. I was asked about my caste," she said while participating in debate on 'Commitment to the Constitution'.

Some members of the Treasury benches objected to the allegation of Selja who was supported by several Congress members who were on their feet.

To this, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said he too has visited the temple but was not asked about his caste.

Pramod Tiwari (Cong) said there was no reason why one should not believe what Selja was saying.

As tempers ran high, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien tried to pacify the members of both the two sides.

With BJP members contesting her allegation, Selja said the members of the ruling party have "raised a question on my integrity".

Kurien tried to pacify Selja but she said her "integrity" and "honesty" has been questioned and she was being "subjected" to humilation on the floor of the House.

"Don't read too much", the Deputy Chairman told Selja and asked her whether anybody had said she was "lying". He said the BJP members have merely expressed disagreement with her statement.

Kurien said he will go through the records and if any member has questioned her integrity, necessary action will be taken and he may even reprimand the member concerned.

Leader of the House and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said it was a serious issue if it had happened. At the same time, he asked her whether she had taken up the issue with the then Gujarat Chief Minister (Narendra Modi) or Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh).

To this, she said, "I choose not to answer".

Selja went on to question why the "curiosity" that arose in the Leader of the House was not found in any other member.

She said the fact that minister after minister is speaking on the issue is also an "intolerance". She said she was only expressing what she had exprienced.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu said if somebody has made a comment, Gujarat people "feel" the state is being defamed.

Kurien also said what members say in the House is taken at the "face value" and if a member has misled the House, there are procedures to deal with issue.

P L Punia (Cong), who is also Chairman of National Commission for Schedule Castes, too said that Dalits are not allowed inside a temple in Odisha.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said if Selja was hurt by the comment of a BJP member, there was no harm in apologising.

Selja said a priest had asked about her caste during the vist to Dwarka temple. "What is your caste...this is Gujarat model," she said, an apparent jibe at Modi.

She said if a such a thing had happened, the incident should be criticised and not her. She said that by organising the two-day debate in Parliament, the ruling party was only trying to "score political points".

Selja, who is from Haryana, also raised the issue of burning of two dalit children in the state and death of another dalit boy. She also said that a Haryana Minister had humilated a dalit woman Superintendent of Police. "This is their (BJP) habit," Selja added.

Punia said there are instances, where dalits are not allowed to worship in temples. He mentioned an instance, about a temple in Odisha, where a board had been put up asking dalits not to go beyond a point, while others were allowed to move ahead and worship.

He said when he along with a group of people went there, the pujari ran away after locking that temple. In this case, he however added, that an FIR had already been registered.

After Punia spoke, BJP MP Bhupendra Yadav from Odisha said members should not say anything, which they can't authenticate. Some other members of the ruling party also said that Punia should give exact date of the incident.

As an argument ensued, Kurien, who was in the chair, said that when a member speaks, the Chair presumes it to be true and take it at face value. He said if any member believes there is an attempt to mislead the House, they can raise it under appropriate rules.

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April 11,2024

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Udupi: A middle aged couple lost their lives while their teenage son survived with critical wounds after a speeding car, which was travelling from Maharashtra to Kerala, fell off a flyover in Kundapur taluk of Udupi district. 

The deceased have been identified as Munnavar (49), who was driving the car, and his wife Sameera (41), a native of Kannur in Kerala. Their son Suhail (18), who was in the car, suffered severe injured and is recovering at Manipal Hospital. He is said to be out of danger.

The family was traveling from Kollapur to Kannur as Sameera was a native of Kannur. Their plan was to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr in Sameera’s parental home.  

However, on Tuesday (April 9) morning, when the car reached near Bobbaryanakatte, it reportedly went out of control of the driver and fell off the flyover on to the service road.

All three were immediately rushed to the hospital in Kundapur. Sameera died immediately upon admission to the hospital, while Munnavar succumbed to injuries at Manipal Hospital on April 10. The mortal remains of both were handed over to relatives after the post-mortem.

Kundapur DySp Belliyappa, Circle Inspector Nada Kunar, Traffic SIs Naveen Naik, and Savitri Nayak visited the accident spot for the inspection.

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April 10,2024

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Mangaluru, Apr 10: Hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the coastal city of Mangaluru and other parts of coastal Karnataka today observed Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of 29-day-long blessed month of Ramadan. 

The occasion falls on the first day of the 10th lunar calendar month of Shawwal, the start of which varies based on the sighting of the new moon.

Braving the scorching sun, Muslim men and children - and in some parts women too - thronged Eidgahs and mosques to express gratitude to their Creator by offering Eid prayers after distributing Zakat and Fitr among the poor and needy.

While praying for the acceptance of their month-long fasting and charity among other deeds, the imams also prayed for the acceptance of sacrifices of people of Gaza wherein Israel regime’s bloody war claimed thousands of lives including children and women in past six months.

Twaqa Ahmed Musliyar, the Qadhi of Mangaluru, led the Eid prayers and delivered the sermon at the historic Eidgah mosque at Lighthouse Hill. “We have fasted for a month to comply with the command of the Almighty. Let us also lead a pious life in the remaining 11 months of the year,” he said.

He exchanged Eid greetings with the devotees and called upon them to remember the lesser privileged people and needy during the festivities. “We have a social responsibility towards the poor and needy. As long as we attend to their problems, God's blessings will continue to shower upon us,” he said.

Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker U T Khader and several people’s representatives offered prayers at Eidgah mosque. Volunteers from Zeeanth Bhaksh masjid helped the police in maintaining traffic and discipline.

Children dressed in festival attire added colour to the celebrations. People wished Eid Mubarak and hugged each other.

The Eid prayers were held in all prominent mosques across the city. Taqwa Masjid in Pumpwell, Masjidunnoor in Hampankatta, Ihasan Masjid near Unity Hospital, Bolar Islamic Centre in Bolar, Ibrahim Khaleel Masjid near State Bank, Jamia Masjid in Kudroli and Kachi Memon Masjid in Bunder were overcrowded with devotees. Several thousand devotees offered prayers at Central Juma Masjid in Ullal on the outskirts of the city.

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News Network
April 11,2024

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Bengaluru: With six children of Karnataka Ministers in the Lok Sabha poll arena, the campaign scene is getting spiced up in the high-stakes elections for the ruling Congress in the state. Prabha Mallikarjun, wife of Minister S S Mallikarjun, is also in the poll fray.

The grand old party tried its best to make several ministers enter the Lok Sabha election fray but none of them agreed and, instead, they proposed the candidature of their family members.

'Now, deliver' is the stern message of the Congress leadership to the ministers, putting the onus on them to ensure the victory of their kin, according to party sources.

The Congress secured only one seat in Karnataka in the 2019 general elections, and has now set an ambitious target of winning in 15 to 20 constituencies in the coming polls.

Elections in 28 constituencies in the State will be held in two phases on April 26 and May 7.

Sons of Laxmi Hebbalkar, Eshwar Khandre and H C Mahadevappa— Mrinal Ravindra Hebbalkar, Sagar Khandre and Sunil Bose— have been fielded from Belagavi (Belgaum), Bidar and Chamarajanagar, respectively.

Daughters of Satish Jarkiholi, Shivanand Patil and Ramalinga Reddy— Priyanka Jarkiholi, Samyukta Patil and Sowmya Reddy— are in contention in Chikkodi, Bagalkot and Bangalore South respectively.

Prabha Mallikarjun, wife of Minister S S Mallikarjun and daughter-in-law of veteran party leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, is the party's nominee from Davangere.

"In this 'do or die' situation, the ministers have found the Lok Sabha election a launch pad for their children and relatives. We have to see how these ministers succeed in their mission," a Congress insider said.

Barring Sowmya Reddy, who is a former MLA, none of them have any legislative experience in elections. Stakes are high for some other ministers as well.

The party has fielded Radhakrishna Doddamani, son-in-law of Congress President M Mallikarjun Kharge in the family's home turf of Kalaburagi (Gulbarga), a seat held by the BJP.

Kharge's son and Minister Priyank Kharge has taken charge of spearheading the campaign in this segment, where his father had lost in the 2019 general elections.

"Priyank has taken this election as a prestige issue given the fact that the Congress president hails from here and had represented this constituency in the past in the Lok Sabha," a Congress leader said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had last month launched the BJP's formal campaign in Kalaburagi in what was seen as an aggressive message to the Congress.

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress chief D K Shivakumar's brother D K Suresh is seeking reelection in Bangalore Rural, where the BJP and JD(S) have fielded noted cardiologist and son-in-law of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda.

The Congress which came to power in the state in May last year is seeking to ride on its five guarantee schemes of the government.

Sowmya Reddy, who is contesting from Bangalore South asked the women voters during a recent roadshow - "Do you travel in the buses? Which places have you visited in the recent past? Do you pay or travel for free?".

She was referring to 'Shakti' guarantee that offers free rides to Karnataka women in non-luxury government buses within the state. Reddy explained to the people about the four other guarantees— 'Gruha Lakshmi', 'Gruha Jyoti', 'Yuva Nidhi' and 'Anna Bhagya'.

"Who brought 'Achchhe Din'? Is it Congress or the BJP? Which 'Achchhe Din' you will vote for?" Reddy asked the women voters.

In Belagavi, Mrinal Ravindra Hebbalkar, is taking on BJP candidate and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar.

In campaign meetings, Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar reminded the crowd how Shettar had joined Congress when the BJP denied him a ticket in the 2023 Assembly election, only to return to the saffron party a few months later.

"Shettar is from Hubballi and we are from Belagavi. We know the problems prevailing here better than any 'outsider'. Today, BJP people are saying that they vote for Shettar keeping Prime Minister Narendra Modi in mind, but I want to know why he joined Congress and abused the BJP, Modi and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa," the minister asked.

The BJP swept the 2019 general elections in Karnataka winning 25 out of the 28 seats, while an independent backed by the party also won. The Congress and JD(S) which fought the elections together, secured one seat each.

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