Thamirabarani 'Maha Pushkaram' begins after 144 years
Tirunelveli (TN), Oct 11: The Thamirabarani "maha pushkaram" (festival of worshipping of rivers), held after 144 years based on unique planetary positions as per the almanac, got off to a start here Thursday.
The 12-day festival, inaugurated by Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit at Papanasam near here, is expected to draw lakhs of devotees from different parts of the country.
Elaborate arrangements had been made to enable the people to take the holy dip in the river which runs through the districts of Tirunelveli and Tuticorin.
More than 60 bathing ghats had been spruced up while special 'homams' and 'pujas' would also be performed during the 12 days.
Though pushkaram was celebrated every 12 years, the maha pushkaram at Thamirabarani occurs after a gap of 144 years based on a unique combination of planetary positions, signifying the transit of Jupiter to the next zodiac sign, organisers said.
Speaking after inaugurating the festival, Purohit said holy rivers such as the Yamuna, Ganga, Brahmaputra, Godavari, Krishna Cauvery and Thamirabarani were known throughout the country and people take baths in them on auspicious occasions.
Taking a dip in the sacred rivers like Thamirabarani was part of the 5000-year-old Indian Culture which could not be destroyed despite invasion by Muslim kings and British model of education introduced by Lord Macaulay, he said.
The governor said it was necessary to get the blessings of saints and ascetics and pushkaram was celebrated also for respecting the rivers.
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He's crazy person: Himanta on Rahul alleging Assam CM misused state power to harass opponents
Bhubaneswar (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma threw a "crazy person" barb at Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday after the Congress leader accused him of "abusing state power to harass his political opponents and critics".
Sarma, who arrived at the airport here before proceeding to Puri to pray at the Jagannath Temple, challenged Gandhi to make his passport details public and reveal which countries the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha had visited.
His scathing remarks came after Gandhi termed Sarma "most corrupt in the country" and said the Congress stood with Pawan Khera, who has alleged that the Assam CM's wife has multiple passports and offshore properties, which were not declared in the chief minister's election affidavit.
The Sarmas have rejected the allegations as false.
In a post on X, Gandhi alleged, "The present CM of Assam is the most corrupt in the country. He will not escape the law. His abuse of state power to harass his political opponents and critics is against the Constitution."
"The questions that are being raised have to be probed. Transparency, accountability of power and the rule of law are the basis of our Constitutional values. The Congress stands with Pawan Khera. We will not be intimidated," he has said.
Responding to reporters' questions over Gandhi's remarks, Sarma said, "Let me make it very clear, neither I nor any member of my family has a golden visa, as alleged. Rahul Gandhi is a crazy person."
"I challenge Rahu Gandhi to present his passport in front of the media, and I will bring mine and those of my family members. Let the media know who is visiting which country," Sarma said.
The Assam chief minister also said that Rahul Gandhi "is not God". "If I make allegations against him, will he be ready for a probe into those? He should know that others, too, have the right to ask him questions."
Asked about the Supreme Court staying the Telangana High Court's order granting Kehra one-week transit anticipatory bail in the case registered for levelling allegations against Sarma's wife, the BJP leader said he was not aware of it.
"However, according to me, the Telangana High Court cannot grant transit bail to Khera as he is not a resident of that state. The law will take its own course," Sarma said.
The senior BJP leader said he would join his party's election campaign in West Bengal from Thursday.
Later, in a post on X, he said, "On Assamese New Year, offered my prayers to Mahaprabhu Jagannath for Assam's continued peace and progress." Along with the post, he also shared a video of his visit to the temple.
