Hindu centres of faith were left humiliated for years,but Modi govt restoring their glory: Amit Shah
Ahmedabad(PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Saturday said the centres of faith of the Hindu community were left humiliated for many years and nobody cared to bring back their glory until the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, which is now working "fearlessly" for the renovation of such sites.
He said earlier people used to be ashamed of visiting temples, but a new era began with the Modi government.
Shah was speaking here at the foundation stone laying ceremony of the Umiyadham temple, dedicated to Maa Umiya, the reigning deity of the Kadva Patidar sect. The temple and other buildings are being built a cost of Rs 1,500 crore on 74,000 square yards of land.
"For many years, the centres of faith of the Hindu community were left humiliated, and nobody took the initiative to bring the glory back until Modi came to power at the Centre with full majority," he said while addressing a gathering.
Shah mentioned the Kashi Vishwanath corridor project at Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh that Modi will inaugurate on December 13, and the foundation stone ceremony of Rs 150 crore Vindhyachal Corridor Project (VCP) in Mirzapur that he performed in August this year.
"Today, as the foundation stone laying ceremony of a grand temple is being performed by Arya samaji (Governor of Gujarat) Acharya Devvrat, I would like to say that Modiji has worked fearlessly and with faith and respect for the renovation of our forgotten centres of faith," Shah said.
The PM unveiled the statue of Adi Shankaracharya and revived the centre of faith of crores of Hindus at Kedarnath temple after the region was devastated by flash floods in 2013, he added.
"We will see the renovation of Kashi Vishwanath temple at the hands of (PM) Narendrabhai on December 13 that was destroyed in the era of Aurangzeb," he said.
According to Shah, three months ago he himself laid the foundation stone for the construction of a grand temple of Hindu Goddess Ma Vindhyavashini at Mizapur in Uttar Pradesh, as the idol of the deity was hidden in a house due to the fear of attacks by Muslim invaders.
"We have seen how earlier people would be ashamed of visiting a temple. But a new era began in the country after Narendrabhai performed 'ganga aarti' after rubbing the ashes of Kashi Vishwanath following an invite by the President (to form the government at the Centre)," the minister said.
Shah said temples have not just been religious centres, but they are also centres of social service and centres of energy for those disappointed with life to get over their difficulties and move ahead.
On the occasion, the BJP leader praised the Patidar community and said the history of the upliftment of Gujarat and the country is linked to the community.
"If we link the upliftment of the Patidar community to that of Gujarat, then two graphs run parallel. Contribution of the Patidar community in the development of Gujarat will be written in golden letters whenever the history of the development of Gujarat is written, I have no doubt about this," he said.
He also said that other organisations should learn from the Umiya Mata temple trust, which has set up a social and scientific system, where contributions from donors from the community are used to construct temples and ensure that nobody remains deprived.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, former deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, Governor Acharya Devvrat and others took part in the beginning of the three-day foundation-stone laying ceremony. PM Modi will attend the foundation stone laying ceremony virtually on December 13.
Apart from the Umiyadham temple, the trust, which runs the main temple in Unjha, will also build a 13-storey complex adjacent to the temple to provide training as well as hostel facility to Patidar youths preparing for the UPSC and GPSC entrance tests.
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Real Madrid fines Valverde and Tchouaméni half a million euros each for altercation
Barcelona (AP): Real Madrid slapped players Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni with half-a-million-euro ($588,000) fines on Friday for their altercation during practice.
The massive fines came a day after the midfielders tussled when the team trained. Valverde said in a post on social media on Thursday that no punches were thrown. But Valverde knocked his head on a table and he suffered a small cut that required a brief hospital visit.
On social media, Valverde initially called it a “meaningless fight” with a teammate and said “everything has been blown out of proportion."
His employers, however, considered it a significant enough breach of team discipline to nail both Valverde and Tchouaméni with fines that bite even the bank account of a top soccer player. The half-a-million euro penalties reflect the reputational damage the club was enduring in a chaotic end to a disappointing season.
In a statement, the 15-time European champion said its disciplinary action was concluded after both players expressed to the club “their complete remorse for what happened and apologized to one another.”
Madrid added they also apologized to their teammates, the coaching staff and club supporters, as well as showing their willingness to accept whatever disciplinary action the club deemed “opportune.”
Tchouaméni was back training with Madrid on Friday, two days before they play at Barcelona in a clasico. Madrid has to win otherwise Barcelona will be crowned La Liga champion.
After being notified of the fine, he posted a public apology to the club and its fans on social media.
“What happened this week in training is unacceptable,” Tchouaméni wrote. "I say this while thinking about the example we are expected to set for young people, whether in football or at school.
“Above all, I am sorry for the image we projected of the club.”
Valverde was not at practice due to the head knock.
Both players are set to play in the World Cup next month, with Tchouaméni playing for France and Valverde for Uruguay.
Chaotic end to a poor season
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The run-in between the players, who for seasons have played side by side in Madrid's midfield, came after they argued this week in previous training sessions. But tempers boiled over on Thursday. Spanish media was rife with reports that the players previously disagreed over the club's decision to let coach Xabi Alonso go after just months on the job.
It was not the only altercation involving Madrid players during training this week. Álvaro Carreras confirmed he was in a “minor” incident with a teammate. Spanish media said he and fellow defender Antonio Rüdiger got into a scuffle.
Álvaro Arbeloa, the coach who was promoted from Madrid's reserve team when Alonso was fired in January, will face tough questions on what went wrong inside the changing room when he gives a press conference on Saturday ahead of the clasico at Camp Nou.
Madrid is facing a second consecutive campaign without a major trophy amid rumors in the Spanish media that club president Florentino Pérez is considering bringing back Jose Mourinho to straighten out his underperforming team.
