God and meditation PM's private affair, why should we interfere, asks DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, May 30: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Thursday refused to comment on Prime Minister Narendra Modi undertaking a 45-hour long meditation in Tamil Nadu's Kanyakumari, saying it was the PM's private affair and why should anyone interfere into it.
Responding to a question, the state Congress chief said: "It is his private thing -- God, bhakti (devotion) -- why should we interfere? Why should we interfere in his prayers and meditation?"
Following the culmination of the hectic Lok Sabha election campaign in which he presided and addressed over a multitude of political events such as roadshows and rallies, Modi will be meditating in an ambience of quietude, where probably only the sound of breaking waves could be heard, till June 1.
While the PM chose Kedarnath cave to reflect and meditate following the end of the campaign in 2019 Lok Sabha polls, now he has chosen a spiritually significant place on the southernmost tip of the mainland of the country.
The Congress party had alleged on Wednesday that Modi was trying to "circumvent" the silence period restrictions, ahead of the June 1 last phase Lok Sabha polls, with his meditation trip and urged the Election Commission to ensure it is not aired by the media as it violates the model code of conduct.
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Dalit outfits call state-wide hartal over dental student’s death
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Various Dalit organisations on Monday announced a state-wide hartal seeking justice in the death of Kannur Dental College student Nithin Raj.
The hartal will be observed on Tuesday from 6 am to 6 pm.
As many as 52 Dalit organisations, including Justice for Nithin Raj Action Council, have announced the strike.
Organisations requesting cooperation for the strike said that no vehicles will be forcibly stopped and that all essential services are exempted.
Raj, a first-year BDS student at a private dental college in Anjarakkandy in Kannur district, was found critically injured after falling from a building on April 10 and later succumbed to his injuries.
Police have registered a case against two faculty members on charges of abetment of suicide and under provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, following allegations by the student’s family that he was subjected to caste- and complexion-based harassment.
Kerala Pinnokka Samudaya Munnani (KPSM), one of the organisations supporting the hartal, alleged in a statement that police had shown apathy in the investigation and were attempting to protect the accused in the case.
KPSM state president K V Padmanabhan and general secretary S Anwar alleged that the probe into Raj’s death was being deliberately misdirected and delayed.
While the family has firmly alleged that caste discrimination and mental harassment by faculty members led to the student’s death, police were attempting to divert the investigation towards loan app borrowings, they claimed.
The organisation alleged that this was a planned move to shield the real accused.
KPSM further alleged that by deliberately delaying the arrest of the accused teachers, police enabled them to secure anticipatory bail.
They said there was no confidence in the present police investigation and demanded that the case be handed over to an independent agency at the earliest.
