Mangaluru: Udupi Qazi, Alhaj Bekal Ibrahim Musliyar on Saturday requested the Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner to extend the lockdown in the Coastal Karnataka till the end of Ramadhan.

The Qazi asserted that the Muslims in the region have been co-operating with the authorities and have barred Iftar gatherings, prayers, taraweehs and congregational prayers at mosques, dargahs and elsewhere during the holy month of Ramadhan under the instructions of State Waqf Board. He then added that relaxation in the lockdown at the time of Eid can result in increased traffic and movement in the region and that it can lead to spread of COVID-19 once again. He further urged the Deputy Commissioner to extend the lockdown at least till the end of Ramadhan to cap the spread of the deadly desease.

He also opined that in case the administration decides to relax the lockdown regulations, it will result in Muslims rushing into the markets to buy new clothes and festive goods and maintaining physical distancing will also be a major problem. He also added that Muslims in the region were ready to celebrate the Eid with simplicity.

The Qazi also requested the authorities to relax the lockdown after Eid to prevent the virus from spreading in the region.

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New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Thursday expressed confidence in the victory of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala, saying the Congress-led alliance will win more than 75 seats out of the total 140 in the state.

Tharoor, who hails from Kerala, said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls, most of which predicted a victory for the UDF that has been out of power for 10 years in the state.

"We have been on the ground. I have campaigned in 59 constituencies across 12 districts out of 14. I was very confident we are going to win.

"Everything that I have picked up from not just my party colleagues and workers but also from other observers, media and others have always convinced me that we were going to score a comfortable win of above 75 seats. And all the (exit) polls have confirmed the same thing," he told reporters here.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP said he was not surprised to see the results of the exit polls but in general he was not a big fan of exit polls in India.

"Because ours is not purely a homogenous society. We have to take into account gender issue, caste issue, class issue, regional disparities. You never get a convincingly large enough sample to give an accurate poll and now there is the additional complication that we have heard about in West Bengal this year that many people are unwilling to answer the questions of the pollsters," he said.

The Congress leader said normally, it used to be below 10 per cent that people said that they would not answer.

"Even if you are a reputable exit pollster, in Bengal, one polling company has said 60 per cent of people refused to answer. So, what is the worth of a poll where 60 per cent of your respondents have not answered," he said.

Several exit polls on Wednesday predicted a comeback by the Congress-led UDF in Kerala after 10 years, dethroning the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF).

Polling for the 140-member Kerala assembly was held on April 9. Results of assembly elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Puducherry, besides Kerala, will be announced on May 4.