Lucknow, June 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday offered floral tributes at the 'samadhi' and 'mazaar' of the 15th-century saint Kabir Das at Maghar in Sant Kabir Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh.

Modi became the first Prime Minister to visit Maghar, where the mystic poet and saint breathed his last in 1518.

Officials present with the Chief Minister told IANS that Modi took keen interest in knowing the details of Maghar even as he surprised many with his in-depth knowledge of the saint who is revered equally by Hindus and Muslims.

The entire place was decked up with flowers.

Later, addressing a public gathering which drew thousands of locals and followers of the saint, Modi pointed out how Kabir became great not by his birth but by his 'karma's (deeds).

He began his address in Bhojpuri dialect, pleasing the gathering which cheered him. He said he had long wished to be at the shrine but could not and now that he was here, he was elated and was overwhelmed.

"I have also seen the caves where Sant Kabir, Guru Nanak and Guru Gorakhnath held spiritual parleys," he said.

His own government was driven by the basic tenets of equality and uplifting the poor, all of which were dear to Kabir.

Earlier, due to the flooding of the Gorakhpur airport runway, the Prime Minister's aircraft landed in Lucknow where he was welcomed by Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik, Adityanath and others.

 

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Bengaluru: Karnataka High Court judge, Justice V Srishananda, on Saturday expressed regret in open court after facing backlash over his controversial remarks in his recent court hearings, reported Bar and Bench.

Two purported video clips from Justice V Srishananda’s court hearing that show him making inappropriate comments went viral across social media platforms.

On Saturday, Justice Srishananda invited members of the Advocates Association, Bengaluru, and senior lawyers to his courtroom at 2:30 PM, where he read out a note expressing regret for inappropriate comments.

Quoting Advocates Association President Vivek Subba Reddy, Bar and Bench wrote, “He expressed regret for the comments and clarified that it was not his intention to offend any community or members of the Bar. He also requested the association to relay this message to all members of the Bar.”

Reddy further stated, “We also advised him to encourage young lawyers in the courtroom and refrain from making any irrelevant remarks during hearings.”

Another senior lawyer present during the session confirmed to the legal news portal that Justice Srishananda also addressed comments directed at a woman lawyer, who was seen in one of the videos being reprimanded by the judge. The judge Justice Srishananda clarified that his remarks were not intended to target her (woman lawyer) specifically, but rather pertained to the appellant she was representing. “He explained that his comment was meant to imply that the appellant seemed to know a lot about the other party,” said the lawyer.

In addition, Justice Srishananda assured those present that he would avoid making such comments in the future.

The controversy came to light on September 19, when a video clip from an August 28 Court hearing surfaced on social media, showing Justice Srishananda referring to a Muslim-majority sub-locality in Bengaluru’s Goripalya as "Pakistan." Hours later, another video from the same courtroom emerged, in which the judge was seen making a gender-insensitive remark.

Following outrage over the viral videos, a Supreme Court bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, along with Justices Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai, Surya Kant, and Hrishikesh Roy, on September 20 took a suo motu cognizance and sought a report from the Karnataka High Court Registrar General in connection with the viral video.

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