The Great Indian Political Drama - 3 (Oct 2018 - )

[vishvak]

We aren't even asking where is secularism in la la pa ki lands - even before standing on our own feet to face, what butt butt , .. drumroll .. another exclusive challenger .. .. China.

The politics of votebanks seems to be about who collapses most efficiently to be dogpiled by many exclusivist ideologies - if single one won't do. No prudence even about following same path ala pa ki and expecting different results.

Even if USA or UN or some superpower will don hat of negotiations then those who profess exclusive right to secularism will say .. no no .. from where but, per next++ level of secularism, temple premises.

[JohnTitor]

There are 2 categories of aid. The aid mentioned in the article is for government programs such as sanitation and poverty alleviation (whether it is used for that or not is something else).

The "aid" you speak of doesn't come overtly from any government, but from charities and other NGOs. Those would seek to do their job of converting will do so irrespective of whether India accepted government aid. The first can be stopped easily, the second will require a more thorough system on our end (let's not forget that barring a few, most of the stakeholders have an incentive to ensure the 2nd type of aid continues - evangelists want numbers, locals get their palms greased etc)

[chetak]

twitter

'Nehru made it possible for a Chaiwala to be PM', says Shashi Tharoor

Then Nehru's birthday would have been celebrated as Chaiwala's Day, but it's called Children's Day because he made possible for his children to be PM - Irfan Habib.

[Sachin]

Has the Rafale drama of Congress also become a damp squib? I understand that there was a hearing yesterday in which even senior IAF officials gave their statements. But then what happened? Checked up the Chindu, nothing reported there in the head lines. Checked up Deccan Herald only to find Delay in talks pushed Rafale prices up, Centre tells SC. But no #BlowToModi stuff !!

Mean while what happened on Supreme Court to hear pleas of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi in Income Tax case on Tuesday {13th Nov}? Today is the 15th.

[VinodTK]

Nizam’s kin joins AAP; Arvind Kejriwal to visit Telangana

Hyderabad: Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will be campaigning for AAP candidates in Telangana in first week of December, said the party on Thursday.

Burra Ramu Goud, AAP Telangana State convenor said, “Kejriwal will be campaigning in Telangana for the candidates but we are yet to get confirmation on the date of canvassing. It will be towards end of November or early December. Meanwhile we have other prominent leaders like Somnath Bharti, Alka Lamba, Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh who will be campaigning from 21November”.

[Lilo]

SOUTH WILL DOMINATE CRUCIAL POLL IN 2019 FOR LOK SABHA - KashmirTimes
By Dr Satish Misra. Dated: 11/14/2018 10:42:42 AM

Who forms the next government after the general elections in 2019 is going to depend upon the way southern states that send 130 MPs to the people's house is going to vote.
Karnataka by-election results earlier this month have clearly set the trend for 2019. The BJP that had won 17 Lok Sabha seats out of the total 28 could win only one seat while the alliance partners- the JD (S) and the Congress won one Lok Sabha seat each and two assembly seats.
A close look at the results reveals that while the Congress and the JD(S) winning margins were high running into over two lakh, the BJP won the Shimoga Lok Sabhaby 52,142 votes. Shimoga seat had been vacated by former BJP Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and his son B Y Raghvendra has emerged victorious. Yeddyurappa had won the same seat by close to four lakh votes. Outcome of the electoral battle clearly speaks for the ruling alliance that is a big danger to the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls.
Most pertinent aspect of the electoral politics and power dynamics of the five states and one Union Territory are the alliances. Alliances dominate the political narrative and determine the electoral outcomes while defining the nature of ruling party during the electoral cycle.
In pursuit of power at the Centre in 2014, the BJP had carefully woven web of alliances in the southern states though it did not get a major breakthrough in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, it allied with the PMK and won one seat while in Kerala it could not win any seat though it increased its vote share by reaching out to smaller parties and groups.
In Andhra Pradesh, the BJP had entered into an alliance with the Telegu Desam Party whose leader Nara Chandrababu Naidu had backed the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's prime ministerial candidature. Riding on Naidu's back, the BJP had won three seats and a valuable alliance partner in the TDP.
Naidu, who walked out of the NDA in March this year on the issue of the Modi government's refusal to grant special status to Andhra Pradesh which had been promised at the time of the division of the state. The BJP-led NDA government dragged its feats on the issue leaving no room for the TDP to remain.
Since Andhra Chief Minister Naidu has been exploring ways to defeat the BJP at the next general elections. Pragmatic and having fingers on the pulse of people, Naidu has taken a very innovative and bold step of striking an electoral alliance with the TDP's arch political rival- the Congress- in the next month's assembly elections in his neighbouring state of Telangana where Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has played a political gamble by preponing the elections.
If Naidu's decision to reverse the historical animosity towards the Congress succeeds in Telangana then he would be able to argue convincingly with other traditionally anti-Congress regional parties to forget their differences with the country's grand old party to save the country and protect its unity.
Combined with the Congress's victory in the majority of the assembly elections in the Hindi speaking states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Naidu would be able to present a credible alternative to the BJP-led NDA.
Naidu, who was an important player in the formation of the United Front government of Prime Ministers H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujaral and then in the BJP-led government of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, has the requisite expertise to bring parties on a unified platform to weave a functioning coalition. He has already done the necessary spadework by meeting all the important non-BJP leaders. By convening a meeting of non-BJP leaders on November 22, Naidu has taken the next logical step.
Naidu has also constructed a set of ideological arguments for the need to form an alliance that can take on the BJP. He has stated that the country's Constitution is in danger. The Modi government is trampling upon principles of federalism. Independent and autonomous institutions are being wrecked and social fabric of the country is being torn asunder.
By meeting the DMK leader M K Stalin, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister took another step towards the formation of an anti-BJP alliance. After the death of former Chief Minister and AIADMK leader J Jayalalithaa in December 2016, the DMK alone has emerged the potential political force. The BJP's closeness with the AIADMK government has damaged the party's political credibility. It would not be surprising if the DMK and its allies win majority of 30 seats in the states in the general elections.
The only hope and a chance to redeem its presence in the southern states for the BJPis to make electoral gains in the coming assembly election in Telangana where it is locked in a triangular fight though it has a covert understanding with the TRS. It is unfortunate for the BJP that it cannot directly enter into an electoral alliance with the TRS because Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao would then lose support of Muslim voters. In case, TRS fails to remain in power after the electoral results are declared on 11 December, then an alliance between the BJP and TRS would become a possibility.
Hindi-speaking states particularly UP and Bihar along with others used to be in the driving seats deciding the nature and character of the government in New Delhi. It appears that this time wheels of history are moving fast. Political dynamics is tilting towards the south where coalition politics and alliance culture has evolved into a complete discipline.
Dr. Satish Misra is a Veteran Journalist & Research Associate with Observer Research Foundation.
—[IFS]

The BIF/Sikular strategy for 2019 (especially South) is well laidout above:

CBN is a key organiser and the defacto PM candidate of Mahathugbandhan now ensconced in the armspits of Sonia mata - he wants to take this risky bet as he sees himself getting wiped out in AP state elections anyway(and hence his open allying with Sonia the one abomination the people of Andhra will never accept).
He now allies with congress in gamble to gain power in Center (while getting wiped out in the AP state) this is actually the decision of networks which prop him - both local moneybag-EJ ones and the overseas ones .

[chetak]

It would be wise to understand the compulsions and the motives of the backers of the Observer Research Foundation.

It is not as pristine in its motives or even as benignly academic as it portrays itself.

[chetak]

Sabarimala:Trupti Desai arrives at Kochi amid protests

Sabarimala:Trupti Desai arrives at Kochi amid protests

ETB Sivapriyan, Pathanamthitta (Kerala), NOV 16 2018,



Activist Tripti Desai of Bhumata Brigade, who spearheaded the campaign for women entry in several temples, landed in Kochi airport on Friday morning to visit the famous Lord Ayyappa Temple in Sabarimala.

However, Tripti and members of her brigade were holed up at the Cochin International Airport in Nedumbassery as none of the taxi drivers are willing to take them to Pamba, the foothills of Sabarimala, 190 km away.

The members of the Bhumata Brigade are waiting at the airport waiting area since morning. Police said to have refused to help finding them a cab service to ferry them to Pamba.

On Thursday, Kerala police had said that it will not give any special considerations for Desai and seven others who plan to visit the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple this weekend. Desai on Wednesday, in an email to the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, had requested the state to handle the security, stay and travel arrangements for them.

Tripti had announced that she will offer prayers at the Sabarimala temple on Saturday after the Supreme Court allowed women of all age to enter the shrine. She had spearheaded the campaign for women to be allowed into various religious places, including Shani Shingnapur temple, the Haji Ali Dargah, the Mahalakshmi Temple and the Trimbakeshwar Shiva Temple.

Though the temple opened for a brief period in October and November, none of the women in the said age group were allowed inside the temple due to vociferous protests from people and organisations who are against the Supreme Court order.

The organisations which have support from Congress and BJP say the traditions of Sabarimala cannot be compromised with.

[chetak]

ditto report from the Hindu, the commie rag.

Sabarimala temple entry: Trupti Desai stays put at Kochi airport

Sabarimala temple entry: Trupti Desai stays put at Kochi airport

M.P. Praveen, KOCHI, NOVEMBER 16, 2018

Caught between the standoff between Trupti Desai and BJP protesters are the police personnel.

The stalemate at the Cochin International Airport Limited at Nedumbassery over the arrival of gender equality activist Trupti Desai, on her way to Sabarimala for the pilgrimage, crossed the five-hour mark with neither she nor the protesting activists who are resolved not to let her leave the domestic terminal willing to back down.

Ms. Desai and six other women devotees, all aged below 50, who had arrived by an Indigo flight from Pune at 4. 40 am remain trapped in the terminal since then in the face of stiff protest from Ayyappa hymn-chanting protesters whose number kept on swelling all the time. Protestors have positioned in front of all exit routes to thwart any potential police move to spirit her away through one of those exits.

The protesters had started gathering at the airport long before Ms. Desai arrived at the airport, ignoring the heavy deployment of police under J. Himendranath, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kochi City.

Protesters stage sit-in outside Cochin International Airport on Friday by chanting Ayyappa devotional songs.
Protesters stage sit-in outside Cochin International Airport on Friday by chanting Ayyappa devotional songs. | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat
Leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party and its feeder organisations are busy coordinating the protest. R.V. Babu of Hindu Aikya Vedi, said that protesters wanted to "avoid a confrontation" and urged Ms. Desai to drop the plan and return to Maharashtra.

M.N. Gopi, BJP district secretary, said that Ms. Desai has no other way but to return dropping her plan for undertaking Sabarimala pilgrimage. “No online taxi driver has come forward to take her and the devotees will not allow her to be taken outside the airport on a police vehicle. We are organising the arrival of more protesters to the airport,” he said.

The police are desperate to find a feasible solution to end the stalemate.

Ms. Desai had planned to take a cab from the airport to Kottayam from where she was to proceed to Sabarimala on Saturday. While prepaid taxi operators at the airport remain steadfast in their resolve not to take Ms. Desai out of the airport fearing violent protests, an attempt to book an online cab also failed.

In fact, online cab operators went offline for over an hour near the airport to avoid the risk of being booked for the tricky trip. A message is also circulating in the Whatsapp group of online cab operators that as high as Rs. 50,000 has been offered for the trip.

Amidst all the pandemonium around, Ms.Desai remained determined to get on with her Sabarimala pilgrimage no matter what.

Renu Suresh of Mahila Morcha said that devotees will stage protest along the entire route if Ms. Desai managed to hit the road.

Amidst the tension, Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan arrived at the airport from Delhi but left without responding to the waiting media.

[chetak]

twitter

"While secularism protects Hindu temples in the West, the same term applied in a different manner is used to restrict and penalize them in India."

15260 police, 113 DYSP, 350 CI, 1320 SI, 3 helicopters, armed commandos, RapidActionForce. This is police force deployed at #Sabarimala by Aurangzeb. On othr side V hv Ayyappa Swamy with us. Let's c. V started moving to Sannidanam. Whole Nation Pls pray for devotees. SwamySaranam

[Sachin]

From what I could glean from media sources. The communists have realised that their game is up at Sabari Mala. The chief minister of Kerala who have now realised that Travancore Devaswom Board is actually "independent" body. Till yesterday TDB was like the se-x-slave of the government. TDB plans to file a petition asking for a stay on the verdict.

Amit Shah's landing at Kannur airport, and his visit to Mangalore (in Karnataka) seems to be with a clear action plan. Now there are reports of an organised pilgrimage to Sabari Mala. The pilgrims (who would also be the protestors) are said to be coming as small independent groups, using multiple means of transport and routes. But they are all inter-networked. The police will not be able to identify and remove them. The BJP any ways have started exploiting the issue politically.

15260 police, 113 DYSP, 350 CI, 1320 SI, 3 helicopters, armed commandos, RapidActionForce. This is police force deployed at #Sabarimala by Aurangzeb. On othr side V hv Ayyappa Swamy with us. Let's c. V started moving to Sannidanam. Whole Nation Pls pray for devotees. SwamySaranam

The person who tweeted this can happily proceed. The media is actually NOT revealing the whole story. Police bandobust in Sabari mala is spanned across four stages (Stage 1 - Stage 4). The strength listed above is only during Stage 4, that would be in Jan 2019. Kerala Police will not have so much police men available to do this deployment in Stage 1. If they do that many PS would only have the station sentry/VHF operator left. Even this helicopter patrolling is only scheduled for 3-4 specific days, it will never be done on a daily basis.

[suryag]

Our Chandu now says he has reverted the "general consent" given to CBI to investigate cases in AP ? what does this mean? I thought CBI can only investigate cases that the state government refers to the CBI/Central. Does this new thing that Chandu did prevent them from coming to AP and investigating any crime where the culprits are in AP ?

[chetak]

Twitter

Andhra govt under @ncbn has withdrawn ‘General Consent’ given to CBI to conduct probes in any case on request from the State. So now CBI cannot interfere with any case that takes place within limits of the state. End of road for CBI?

[chetak]

Anjali George @Kuvalayamala 3 hours ago

Tripthi Desai #ReadyToWait till 50 in the Airport

[Lilo]

It would be wise to understand the compulsions and the motives of the backers of the Observer Research Foundation.

It is not as pristine in its motives or even as benignly academic as it portrays itself.

The article depicts the big picture placing all the facts on the ground.
Analysis based on that picture on CBN's projected role in Mahathugbandahan (as defacto projected PM & going for power at center while dumping AP state etc) is not from the pasted ORF article if you have gone through it, the analysis is sourced from elsewhere(i.e a brfite) and i concur.

[chetak]

Its the hidden hand behind the commies and urban naxals like this aunty desai that are intentionally lighting the fires. They did not have such a determined opposition during their siege of the Shani Shingnapur temple where the temple trust "caved" in relatively meekly. That temple was "controlled" by the pawarful gang.

She conspicuously toned down her strident protest during the haji ali fracas and made sure she was far away when the drama took place there. After all, survival is an ancient and primaeval instinct and it is usually the very first thing to kick in during a violent scenario.


Trupti Desai's bid to enter Sabarimala grave, audacious provocation: Activist poses challenge to basic tenets of faith

Trupti Desai's bid to enter Sabarimala grave, audacious provocation: Activist poses challenge to basic tenets of faith

Sreemoy Talukdar Nov 16, 2018

Activist Trupti Desai has added more spark to the Sabarimala powder keg. The Bhumata Brigade chief’s decision to visit the shrine of Lord Ayyappa is a needless provocation that may make an already precarious situation more volatile. In choosing to exercise her "right to pray", Desai is not just interloping into the arena of deeply held religious beliefs and practices, she is subjecting faith to the test of social activism. This cannot have a happy ending.

She is also setting a dangerous precedent in a country of great religious diversity where vast differences in customs exist even within the broader canvas of different religions. This is especially true of a polytheistic religion such as Hinduism which has many gods, numerous sects and even greater number of sub-sects. Each has its own rituals and practices. Each Hindu household has its own ‘kuladevata’ (family deity) and own set of rituals for worship. This, in a nutshell, is true pluralism that does not rely on a sacred set of codes or written word. This pluralism is upheld by an internal consensus that is not theoretical but part of a lived experience.

Desai’s activism, based on the abstract notions of ‘right to pray’ and gender equality in religion, endangers this delicate fabric by militating against the core belief of a particular set of devotees who swear by the name of Lord Ayyappa and is desperate to save their religious identity.

For this, the Supreme Court must share a major part of the blame. It is precisely this possibility that Justice Indu Malhotra had foreseen in her prescient dissenting opinion where she wrote: "Permitting PILs in religious matters would open the floodgates to interlopers to question religious beliefs and practises, even if the petitioner is not a believer of a particular religion, or a worshipper of a particular shrine. The perils are even graver for religious minorities if such petitions are entertained."

It may seem quaint to Desai to rain on the age-old beliefs and traditions of Ayyappa devotees who hold the rituals associated with the ‘naishtika brahmachari (eternal celibate) incarnation of Lord Ayyappa sacred in their hearts. Female devotees of Lord Ayyappa are ‘ready to wait’ not because they have been held at the gunpoint of oppressive patriarchy. They are ‘ready to wait’ not because they have “internalised” male-dominated traditions. They choose to do so because they do not want to alter the deity’s “core belief”. In his state of ‘eternal celibacy’, Lord Ayyappa wishes to be spared the presence of women of a menstruating age. True devotees respect this “core belief” and are ready to comply with the deity’s wishes.

Those who are not ready to do so can visit numerous other temples in Kerala, many of Lord Ayyappa himself where he is not in a state of eternal celibacy and therefore there is no age-related restriction on women to visit the shrine. Among the countless Hindu deities, there is only one deity in one temple with rituals unique to his incarnation as an “eternal celibate”, and gender equality warriors have made violation of that unique tradition the high point of their activism.

As argued in a Firstpost article, "Right to Pray' comes with the precondition of faith and if there is no faith in the deity, then ‘right to pray’ is fallacious and insincere. The relationship of practising Hindus with their deities cannot be seen through a monotheistic lens. The many gods come with their many stories, many customs and many practices. Like monotheism, there cannot be one common template to worship."

Desai’s activism is one step ahead of judicial activism. The Supreme Court’s 4:1 judgement allowing women of all ages to visit the shrine is aimed at making it possible for female devotees to pray at the shrine even if they do not recognise and respect Lord Ayyappa's wish. This was already a case of judiciary installing itself as an intermediary between a deity and its followers. What Desai has done is taken it to the next logical step.

Ayyappa devotees who pray at the shrine (including females over 50 years of age) undertake a harsh 41-day vow of abstinence from sex, non-vegetarian food, alcohol and refrain from cutting body hair. As this report from The Indian Express points out, for a "pilgrim to climb the 18 sacred steps to the temple, he/she has to carry the ‘irumudi’ (sacred offerings) from home… Only those who carry the ‘irumudikettu’ are allowed to climb the 18 sacred steps. Other pilgrims and officials reach the main temple through a different entry."

It is unclear whether Desai, who claims to be a devotee and has said she won’t return to Pune without the darshan of Ayyappa, has kept the ‘vratham’ (vow), undergone the rigorous regimen and is carrying the ‘holy bundle’? Does she think the Supreme Court verdict allows her to break all traditions, even those that are associated with worship?

Desai, who landed at the Cochin International Airport on Friday, has been holed up in the airport due to ‘nama japa’ protests. No cab drivers (including app cabs) are ready to ply her from the airport to the hotel. Police have said that they will provide security but only if Desai arranges for her own car. Protesters lay on the road asking the police to take her over their bodies as tension gripped the area.

Desai’s case is not the genuine grievance of a female devotee who wants to pray at the shrine but is prevented from doing so. Her activism is a direct challenge to the basic tenets of a faith, and actions such as hers are altering the pluralistic nature of Hinduism that is built on tolerance and consensus and pushing it towards getting Abrahamic characteristics. Desai possibly doesn’t even grasp the repercussions of her immature conduct. She is playing with fire.

[chetak]

Women rights activist Trupti Desai booked on caste atrocity, robbery charges

[chetak]

Sabarimala row: Devaswom Board's decision to move SC may ease tension looming over the pilgrimage season

Sabarimala row: Devaswom Board's decision to move SC may ease tension looming over the pilgrimage season

India TK Devasia Nov 16, 2018


The decision of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to move the Supreme Court for more time to implement its 28 September verdict allowing women of all ages to enter the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala may ease the tension looming large over the two-month-long pilgrimage season that began on Friday amid strong protests.

The Board took the decision following a tacit nod given by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the wake of an all-party-meeting and the talks with the thantri and Pandalam royal families in the state capital on Thursday. TDB president A Padma Kumar said that the decision was taken based on the suggestions made at the meetings.

He said that the legal experts the board consulted had opined that the plea could be accepted by the apex court as the board did not get enough time to reconstruct the assets damaged by the August flood and to provide additional facilities for women to visit the temple and perform the darshan safely.

The TDB president said that the petition to be filed on 17 or 19 November would also point out the restrictions imposed by the Central Empowered Committee on new constructions in the hill top and the refusal by the forest department to concede land to provide more facilities to the pilgrims.

Devotees enter the Sabarimala temple as it opens amid tight security. PTIDevotees enter the Sabarimala temple as it opens amid tight security. PTI
The move by the TDB has been welcomed by the temple thantri and the Pandalam royal family, the former custodian of the temple. The Congress and the BJP had made this suggestion at the all-party meeting. However, the chief minister had refused to heed the suggestion and mooted separate dates for women from the restricted age group to visit the temple.

However, he relented when the thantri and Pandalam family representatives remained firm on their stance. The thantri had threatened to close the temple during the monthly puja when the police tried to take a couple of women below the age of 50 to the temple.

The chief minister backed out of his adamant stand of implementing the court verdict in order to placate the protesters, who foiled the bid by about 20 women in the age group of 10 to 50 from entering the temple during the puja in October and November.

The TDB was initially reluctant to exercise the option of approaching the Supreme Court for more time. However, it took the decision following the huge devotees' protests led by Bharatiya Janata Party and Sangh Parivar mounted against the attempt by Bhumatha Brigade chief Trupti Desai to visit the temple.

The protesters swung into action even before the Maharashtra-based women activists arrived at the Kochi airport from Pune at 4.30 am. They swooped on the arrival terminal of the airport and prevented her from coming out of the airport.

As the news spread, more protesters, including large number of women, joined the protest and laid siege to the airport, derailing its functioning and causing hardships to the passengers. As the protesters refused to allow the 33-year-old woman to come out of the airport, the government which had promised to provide protection to young women to enter the temple directed the police to persuade her to drop her plan.

She relented only after 13 hours. Trupti agreed to return, saying that she will come back to Kerala before the end of the Mandala Makaravilakku festival that will go on till 20 January. Before leaving, Trupti said she was not returning because of the protests but due to the law and order problem it would create.

The BJP and the Sangh Parivar, which have been spearheading the agitation against the entry of the women at Sabarimala, are not ready to drop the vigil they have mounted around the hill shrine. Kerala BJP president PS Sreedharan Pillai said that the party will continue its agitations till the government refrained from implementing the verdict.

He said that the party would also launch an agitation against the failure by the government and the TDB to provide basic facilities to the pilgrims. The infrastructure facilities available for pilgrims to perform the daily chores, rest and even take bath before the darshan, were destroyed by the flood. Though the TDB had promised to re-build the damaged assets before the commencement of the season, it has failed to restore even 50 percent of the facilities.

The party has also come down heavily on the government for handing over the control of the temple to the police. The BJP chief said that Sabarimala was under police raj.

The season began under a tight security blanket. The cops had taken control of the entire area and the roads leading to the hill shrine from Thursday itself after district administration brought the Sannidhanam and three other base camps under prohibitory orders under Section 144 of Criminal Procedure Ccde (CrPC).

All roads to the hill shrine have been declared security zones from Thursday onwards till 20 January, when the temple closes after the pilgrimage. The entire area has been divided into six regions and 15,259 police officials have been deployed for security. In all, 55 SPs, 113 DySPs, 359 circle-inspectors and 1,450 sub-inspectors will oversee the security situation in the region.

As many as 920 women police personnel, including 860 civil police officers and 60 officers in the rank of circle inspectors and sub-inspectors have been lined up to provide protection to women devotees. Apart from this, a 20-member commando team, a 234-member bomb squad and two companies of National Disaster Response Force have been stationed at Sannidhanam and Nilakkal.

The police have also imposed restrictions on the devotees, who will not be allowed to stay back after the darshan, particularly during night. This is to avoid gathering of protesters in the disguise of devotees at the hill top. A large number of RSS personnel had entered the hill shrine during the monthly puja in October and special puja on 6 November and prevented even women outside the restricted age group from going to the temple.

The devotees have been protesting against the restrictions. Following the protests, Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran intervened and forced the police to relax some of the conditions, especially the direction to close the shops and puja material counters at 10 pm.

The TDB president said that the shops and counters will remain open 24 hours. He said that the board would also ask the government to relax the condition over limiting the stay of the devotees till 10 pm. This will prevent the devotees from taking part in the Neyyabhishekham, which is usually held at 5.30 am every day.

“We respect the devotees’ right to do darshan and perform the rituals as per their faith and tradition. We will not allow anybody to restrict this right. I am confident that all the devotees coming to Sabarimala will be able to undertake the pilgrimage as usual,” he added.

[SSundar]

Has the Rafale drama of Congress also become a damp squib? I understand that there was a hearing yesterday in which even senior IAF officials gave their statements. But then what happened? Checked up the Chindu, nothing reported there in the head lines. Checked up Deccan Herald only to find Delay in talks pushed Rafale prices up, Centre tells SC. But no #BlowToModi stuff !!

The Rafale drama is actually causing damage through the Goebbelsian path. I know from personal experience in my family that educated people are beginning to believe MSM such as TOIlet and concluding that there is indeed a scam. Clearly, whoever is "handling" Pappu knows what they are doing.

[crams]

No, for so called Rafale 'scam' to have political impact, it has to cross ideological lines. Right now, those who hate ModiJi/BJP to begin with want to believe there is a 'scam'. Those who are pro-ModiJi and pro-BJP are not convinced there is any scam and as you say its Gobblesian propaganda. For e.g., I am following the Chattisgarh campaign, Rafale is not even heard of over there.

Those 'handling' Pappu know one thing for sure. They want to destroy ModiJi's image as an honest politician out to catch the corrupt. This whole Rafale cacophony is to serve towards that end. Facts don't matter anymore.

[SSundar]

No, for so called Rafale 'scam' to have political impact, it has to cross ideological lines. Right now, those who hate ModiJi/BJP to begin with want to believe there is a 'scam'. Those who are pro-ModiJi and pro-BJP are not convinced there is any scam and as you say its Gobblesian propaganda. For e.g., I am following the Chattisgarh campaign, Rafale is not even heard of over there.

Those 'handling' Pappu know one thing for sure. They want to destroy ModiJi's image as an honest politician out to catch the corrupt. This whole Rafale cacophony is to serve towards that end. Facts don't matter anymore.

No disagreements there, but the anecdotal data points I am sharing here are close-enough family that I know are normal issue-based voters who voted BJP in 2014.

[Aditya_V]

Being from TN S Sunder I think if you dig deeper your relatives have a soft corner for DMK, such folks will belive anything and finding faults with Modi helps you popular with the general business community in TN, almost all businessmen in TN have family who are either DMK or AIDMK, and they have lost most in Modi's pro development and transperent policies.

[chetak]

why is the KL govt hell bent on implementing SC verdicts selectively??

Why has the SC verdict, on the St Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church at Piravom, not been implemented so far??

Why the tearing hurry to enforce the SC verdict in the case of Sabarimala only??

Surely, if one case merits the use of diplomacy and the conciliatory path of amicable settlement, so does the other, no??

Or is is a case of some communities being more equal than others??


Control over Orthodox churches: Will try for amicable settlement, govt tells HC

Control over Orthodox churches: Will try for amicable settlement, govt tells HC

Mahir Haneef, Jul 18, 2018,

KOCHI: State government has informed the Kerala high court that it would try for an amicable settlement between the two warring factions of Syrian Orthodox Church in the matter of control over churches.

Through a judgment issued in July last year, the Supreme Court had ruled in favour of the Orthodox faction and had stated that they had the right to conduct administration and prayers in the churches as per a 1934 constitution of the church. But this had left the Jacobite faction unhappy and they had declared at a function held at Kaloor in February that they would not hand over any church to the Orthodox faction.

In the statement filed to the court through senior government pleader PP Thajudeen, home department of the government said it is trying for an amicable solution as there has been continued escalation of tensions between the two factions after the apex court's judgments and they are often resulting in law and order problems.

In February this year, Jacobite faction conducted a rally at Marine Drive, which was attended by more than one lakh believers. In April, the two factions clashed with each other and two criminal cases were registered at Piravom police station. In May, one faction tried to conduct mass in a church and the other faction opposed. Further clashes were avoided due to timely intervention of police, home department’s affidavit stated while adding that the State Machinery is trying to find peaceful resolution to the issue in view of the escalated tensions between the two factions.

Heads of both the factions had approached the government and assured that they did not desire any violence and the chief minister assured the Legislative Assembly that the apex court’s order would be implemented and that steps would be taken to solve the issue through discussion and by maintaining peace, the court was told.

Home department’s affidavit also said threats of suicide were raised by some members of Jacobite faction to prevent the Orthodox faction from entering St Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church at Piravom. Any issue at Piravom may spread to other parts of the state and police would be forced to provide protection to all the churches of both factions throughout the state, the affidavit said.

Government is bound to act as per judgments of the court and to maintain law and order. At the same time, chance for a peaceful resolution is also to be explored. Considering the sensitive nature of the issue at hand, the court should accord sufficient operational freedom to the police and desist from issuing time-bound directions on the issue, government has requested in the affidavit.

[chetak]

[Sachin]

Why has the SC verdict, on the St Mary’s Orthodox Syrian Church at Piravom, not been implemented so far??

The excuse given out (even by the clergy) is that the verdict was on a civil suit, in which GoKL was not a party at all. It was a civil case between Jacobite and Orthodox sect in which Orthodox sect won the case. So ideally the Jacobite sect will have to hand over the control to the Orthodox sect. GoKL or K.P have no role here. But if Orthodox sect says that they are unable to get the verdict implemented, and approach the GoKL and ask for police help, only then GoKL has to provide police protection etc. Now another petition is reaching Hon.SC in which Orthodox sect has asked for a directive from Hon.SC that their earlier verdict has to be implemented within a stipulated time frame.

Off course CPI(M) has been extremely derisive of Hinduism, but has been in extreme support for X'ians and Muslims. That is also a fact.