Mangaluru: Muslim community stand in solidarity with Christians during Sunday prayers at Church
The campaign was organised in the wake of Sri Lanka terror attacks
Mangaluru: Hundreds of Muslims of Mangaluru on Sunday morning gathered at the Milagres Church during the Sunday prayers here to express their solidarity with the Christian community in the wake of Sri Lanka terror attacks that rocked the Churches and hotels in the Island nation on Easter Sunday, earlier last month.
Muslim volunteers held placards expressing their solidarity and their stand against terrorism, while also distributing sweets and drinking water after the prayers at the Church ended.
Fr. Valerian D’ Souza, Parish Priest of Milagres Church, lauded the efforts of Muslims in joining in solidarity against terrorism and thanked the organisers for calling for a such 'a wonderful gesture' in the wake of recent terror attacks in Sri Lanka.
Speaking to Vartha Bharati, Fr. Vareian D’ Souza said “We all know what happened on the Easter day and we all as a family of the victims condemn such acts. We are really happy to have our Muslim brothers standing in Solidarity with us here at Milagres Church today. With this, they have proved that we all stand united against such acts. I am grateful for all the organisers of this campaign who have come up with this idea of expressing solidarity”.
“Though we did not had any speeches here today, but the message was really powerful that we all stand for peace. We should together now work for building peace and love in the society to make it a society of love and society of peace” he added.
The campaign also drew good response from the devotees who were present at the Church. They lauded the efforts of the Muslim community in joining together in solidarity.
A lady present at the Church added “No religion teaches terrorism, so it is baseless to associate such acts to one particular religion or community. We don’t support it and we are glad that our Muslim brothers have also joined us against it”.
Asif Deals, Saif Sultan and others were present during the campaign at the Church.
“The event was not organised by any particular organisation or any particular banner. It was organised by the whole Muslim community of Mangaluru” Asif said after the event.
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Karnataka government employees demand return of Old Pension Scheme
Bengaluru: Government employees in Karnataka have urged the state government to scrap the New Pension Scheme (NPS) and bring back the Old Pension Scheme (OPS), The New Indian Express reported.
The demand was made by the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Association, whose leaders met senior IAS officer Uma Mahadevan on Monday and submitted a memorandum. The association asked the NPS Review Committee, headed by senior IAS officer Anjum Parvez, to recommend the reintroduction of OPS in the state.
Association president C.S. Shadakshari reportedly said the review committee has already visited Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana where NPS was revoked and OPS re-implemented. The committee is yet to submit its report, but has told the government it will do so soon.
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Shadakshari allegedly said NPS has been in force in Karnataka since 2006. He pointed out that West Bengal never adopted the scheme, while Andhra Pradesh and Telangana replaced NPS with a contributory pension model.
States including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Jharkhand have already scrapped NPS through cabinet decisions or budget announcements.
“Under NPS, 10% of the employees’ basic salary and DA, and 14% contribution from the state is credited to the employees’ fund. It constitutes 24% of the total which is non-withdrawable. This is invested in the share market and the final amount depends on the ups and downs of the market,” TNIE quoted Shadakshar as saying.
As per the report, he said that by limiting its contribution to 14%, the government could save up to ₹1.87 lakh crore annually if all vacancies are filled, strengthening the case for bringing back the old pension system.
