Kerala govt. upholds democratic values: Champa
Women’s entry into Sabarimala temple
Dharwad, Jan 2: Senior writer Chandrashekhar Patil, also known as Champa, said that the Kerala government has upheld the democratic values by allowing the women to enter the Sabarimala temple.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, Champa said that by following the Supreme Court order, the Kerala government had initiated to eradicate the superstitious beliefs being practiced since centuries.
On Prof Bhagavan’s statement against Sri Rama, Champa said that major quality of the democracy was to question or protest. There should be rational objections in democracy. ‘Rama Mandira Eke Beda?’ was an old book. Now, it was printed for the second time. Those who demand Rama Mandir, should write a book on as to why they want Rama Mandir. Then people would decide which is right, he said.
“Basically, I am atheist. I don’t believe in gods or ancient stories. So, the issue of constructing Mandir will not come under my purview. People say there was Ramayana story before Valmiki Ramayana. For me, it’s just a sacred script. Valmiki Ramayana is Sanskrit-based.
But I don’t know Sanskrit. So I did not read Valmiki Ramayana. I have read Kuvempu Ramayana. We have around 300 Ramayanas. The issue of whether Rama is a God or historical personality should be left to researchers. So, I am far from this issue”, he said.
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Confident we are going to win Kerala: Shashi Tharoor
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.
