Shiv Sena (UBT) seeks sacking of Narayan Rane from Union cabinet over remarks on Shankaracharyas
Mumbai, Jan 14: The Shiv Sena (UBT) has demanded the dismissal of Union minister Narayan Rane from the Narendra Modi cabinet for questioning the "contribution" of Shankaracharyas to the Hindu religion.
The Uddhav Thacerkay-led party also sought a public apology from the BJP ahead of the consecration of Ram temple in Ayodhya over Rane's comments.
Shiv Sena (UBT) ally Congress staged a protest at the party office in Mumbai against Rane on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters on Saturday in Palghar, Rane had said the Shankaracharyas should bless the Ram Temple instead of criticising some aspects and accused them of looking at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP through a "political prism".
"No one could do it until now. Modi and the BJP took it up and a temple is being built. Should they bless the temple or criticise it? It means Shankaracharyas look at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP through a political prism. This temple is not built on politics but on religion. Ram is our God," Rane said.
"Shankaracharyas should tell what is their contribution to the Hindu religion," he had said.
Addressing a rally on Saturday night, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray said the BJP should issue a public apology ahead of the consecration of the Ram temple for the "derogatory" remarks made by Rane against Shankaracharyas. He also demanded that the BJP expel Rane from the party.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut said Rane had insulted Hinduism by questioning the contribution of the Shankaracharyas.
"The BJP must apologise before January 22 (when the idol consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple will take place in Ayodhya). We demand that Prime Minister Narendra Modi sack Rane from the Union cabinet," Raut said.
Supriya Sule, working president of the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, said it was for the BJP to respond to Rane's comments.
On Friday, VHP working president Alok Kumar said two of the four Shankaracharyas have "openly welcomed" the upcoming consecration ceremony, but none of them would attend the grand event to be held in Ayodhya.
They will visit the Ram temple later "as per their convenience", he told PTI.
The opposition parties have been targeting the BJP over reports of respective Shankaracharyas of Shri Shringeri Sharda Peeth Karnataka, Dwarka Sharda Peeth in Gujarat, Jyotir Peeth in Uttarakhand and Govardhan Peeth in Odisha deciding not to attend the consecration ceremony.
Jyotirpeeth Sankaracharya Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati had reportedly said it would not be right to perform a consecration ceremony at this stage as the construction is yet to be completed.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Mohsin's fifer helps LSG restrict KKR to 155/7 despite Rinku's 83
Lucknow (PTI): Lucknow Super Giants pacer Mohsin Khan added another sordid chapter to Kolkata Knight Riders' batting woes, taking five wickets to restrict the three-time champions to a modest 155 for seven in their IPL match here on Sunday.
Mohsin’s 5 for 23, a personal best for the left-arm pacer in this format, tore apart an already struggling KKR batting unit, as he snaffled the cream wickets of Ajinkya Rahane, Tim Seifert, Cameron Green, Rovman Powell and Anukul Roy.
Rinku Singh (83 not out, 51 balls) made a well-paced fifty and punished Mohammed Shami in the 19th over for 6, 4, 4 and the smoked four sixes in a row against spinner Digvesh Rathi as KKR made 43 runs in the last two overs to go past the 150-run mark.
But his fifty remained a lone act, as Mohsin firmly stood in the limelight.
His bowling ethos were rooted in simple tactics — bang the ball into the black soil pitch to gain bounce or use cutters at various pace to keep the batters guessing.
Mohsin, who started the night with a wicket maiden, showed his variety across two dismissals.
He followed Rahane with a fuller ball as the batter tried to go over the covers, but the ball’s trajectory forced the KKR skipper to just slice the ball up for a simple catch for Aiden Markram.
The 27-year-old stayed calm when Green, who looked comfortable out there while smashing George Linde for two successive sixes, slammed him for a huge maximum.
Two balls later, Mohsin dug one short, challenging Green (34) to go for the pull and the Australian all-rounder took the bait.
The into-the-body angle worked again as Green could only sky the ball to wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant.
Green’s ouster also ended a fifth wicket alliance worth 42 with Rinku Singh.
Bizarre dismissal of Raghuvanshi
=====================
If the existing turmoil was not enough, KKR had to bear the dejection of seeing Angkrish Raghuvanshi getting dismissed obstructing the field.
On the final ball of the fifth over from Prince Yadav, Raghuvanshi nudged one towards mid-on and set off for a single, only to be rejected by Green.
Raghuvanshi put in a dive to save himself but he came in the line of the throw from Shami.
Subsequently, third umpire Rohit Pandit accepted LSG’s appeal and decided that the batter’s turning radius was more than required, eventually resulting in the batter’s dismissal in a rare manner.
