Kerala: Temple hall hosts Eid prayers for members of flooded mosque
THRISSUR: In a refreshing development, the hall attached to temple at Eravathur near Mala became the venue for the Eid prayers on Wednesday for the devotees from the nearby mosque which is still remaining flooded.
The office-bearers of the Purappullikkavu Rathneswari Temple run by SNDP Yogam happily volunteered when they realized that priests at the nearby Kochukadavu Juma Masjid were looking for a place to organize the community prayer session on the Eid day.
"We were hoping that the water will recede by Wednesday and we will be able to offer the Eid prayers at the Masjid itself . However, two days back itself we realised that this may not be possible. When we discussed the issue with the temple office-bearers, they immediately offered their hall for the prayers,’’ said P A Khalid, president of the Masjid Mahallu committee.
"We thought offering the temple hall for Eid prayers will be an expression of the secular lineage of this land. We had also arranged all other facilities like water for cleaning for the devotees who had come for offering prayers," said P K Sabu, who is the president of SNDP Union Mala.
About 200 Muslims had assembled to offer prayers at the temple hall. "We were very happy to hold the prayer session there, and we spent about two hours there," Khalid said.
"The catastrophic flood had united us transcending all the boundaries of caste, religion and politics. Offering of Eid prayers at the temple hall reinforced this realization of human unity given by the flood," said Jijikumar, a SNDP Union activist and a Dubai-based NRI who had played an active role in organizing the Eid prayer session at the temple hall.
The mosques in the district had scaled down the Eid festivities in view of the sufferings caused by the flood to the people as a whole.
courtesy : timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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Bengal polls: Mamata Banerjee backs Jyotipriya Mallick as TMC's candidate from Habra
Habra (WB) (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday extended her full support to long-time political associate Jyotipriya Mallick, claiming he was targeted in a money laundering case due to a CPI(M) conspiracy.
Mallick, who held the Food and Supplies portfolio in the Mamata Banerjee government from 2011 to 2021, was arrested by the ED in October 2023 in a money laundering case linked to an alleged multi-crore ration distribution scam.
He was granted bail in January 2025. At the time of his arrest, he was the state’s forest minister.
Extending her full support to Mallick, who is contesting from Habra constituency for a fourth consecutive term, Banerjee claimed that the CPI(M) and the BJP were spreading canards against him.
"Nobody has worked as well as Balu (Mallick) did in my government," Banerjee said, adding that he was arrested out of "jealousy".
The chief minister alleged that CPI(M) entered 1.5 crore false names in the PDS ration list, which Mallick detected and removed.
She also claimed the Left party persuaded the BJP to register the case against him.
"Balu was instrumental in providing digital ration cards to beneficiaries and introduced a system to track vehicles transporting PDS goods," Banerjee said.
She also defended her nephew and TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, questioning why honest business earnings were being scrutinised.
Addressing voters ahead of the two-phase Assembly polls, she said, "I am the candidate everywhere. One vote for Trinamool means voting for me. If you want development work to continue under my leadership, exercise your franchise with my face in mind."
Training her guns on the CPI(M), Banerjee asserted that the Left party drew a blank in the elections because of her.
The CPI(M)-led Left Front could not win a single seat in the 2021 Assembly elections, and also in the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Bengal.
"ED or CBI cases are not registered against CPI(M), because they play got-up games with the BJP," the TMC chief said.
Banerjee claimed that the CPI(M) candidates, by dividing votes, will try to help the BJP win seats, asserting that anti-BJP votes should go only to the TMC.
She said people were made to stand in long queues for SIR and asked voters, "Will you avenge this or not?"
She claimed that former CPI(M) workers and supporters have now shifted allegiance to the BJP, while accusing the saffron party, Left and Congress of being "in cahoots with each other."
"Where were they when SIR was being done?" she asked, asserting that only TMC workers stood by the people during that period.
