Bengaluru: Muslim prayer centre at Railway Station restored as porters' retiring room after protest
Bengaluru, Feb 2: The retiring room for porters which was converted by some into a Muslim prayer centre at the Bengaluru city Railway Station has been restored to its previous state, Railway authorities said.
The issue had snowballed into a controversy after a viral video in social media claimed there was a 'mosque' inside the Krantiveera Sangolli Rayanna Bengaluru City Railway Station.
"The porters unilaterally decided to restore the porter retiring room into its previous form as they did not want to give any communal twist to the entire episode," a senior Railway official of the South Western Railway said.
The video purportedly showed the prayer hall painted in green and Muslims offering prayer there.
A Hindu right wing organisation staged a demonstration at the Railway Station on Monday demanding restoration of the porter retiring room into its previous form.
They also questioned how the room was allowed to be converted into a 'Mosque' and warned the officials that they will raise the matter with the Railway ministry authorities.
Following the demonstration, the entire room was brought back to its previous form and the porters started taking rest there as done earlier.
The SWR official said the porters themselves agreed not to disrupt peace and cordiality amongst themselves.
"The prayer hall was an internal arrangement of the porters and no one had any issue. Now again for the sake of peace and harmony they unilaterally restored the retiring room. We didn't have any role in its restoration, the official claimed.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
