Want to affix your nameplate: Kharge to PM on Manikarnika Ghat redevelopment
New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the redevelopment of the Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi and alleged that he wants to erase every historical heritage to "simply affix" his own nameplate.
"You have committed the crime of demolishing the rare ancient heritage of Manikarnika Ghat, which was described in the Gupta period and later restored by Lokmata Ahilyabai Holkar, under the pretext of renovation," Kharge said in a post on X.
In the name of beautification and commercialisation, Prime Minister Modi has ordered "bulldozers to demolish centuries-old religious, cultural, and spiritual heritage at Manikarnika Ghat in Varanasi", he said.
"Narendra Modi ji... You want to erase every historical heritage and simply affix your own nameplate," Kharge said in his post.
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Protestors have opposed a demolition drive under the redevelopment plan of the Manikarnika Ghat and alleged damage to a century-old idol of Ahilyabai Holkar, a charge refuted by the district administration.
District Magistrate Satyendra Kumar on Wednesday said artefacts had been "secured" by the culture department and would be reinstalled in their original form after the work is completed. He added that the revamp was aimed at improving sanitation and space management at the ghat which witnesses a large number of cremations daily.
According to Kharge, small and large temples and shrines were demolished in the name of a corridor and it is now the turn of the ancient ghats.
Kashi, the world's oldest city, is a confluence of spirituality, culture, education, and history that attracts the entire world, the Congress chief said.
"Is the intention behind all this again to benefit your business associates? You have handed over water, forests, and mountains to them, and now it's the turn of our cultural heritage," Kharge alleged.
"The people of the country have two questions for you: Couldn't restoration, cleaning, and beautification have been done while preserving the heritage? The entire country remembers how your government, without any consultation, removed the statues of great Indian personalities, including Mahatma Gandhi and Babasaheb Ambedkar, from the Parliament complex and placed them in a corner," Kharge said.
At the Jallianwala Bagh Memorial, the sacrifices of our freedom fighters were erased from the walls in the name of this same "renovation", he claimed.
Why were the centuries-old statues at Manikarnika Ghat, which fell victim to the bulldozers, destroyed and reduced to rubble, he asked.
"Couldn't they have been preserved in a museum? You claimed, 'Maa Ganga has called me'. Today, you have forgotten Ma Ganga. The ghats of Varanasi are the identity of Varanasi. Do you want to make these ghats inaccessible to the public?" Kharge said.
Millions of people come to Kashi every year in the final stages of their lives to attain salvation, Kharge said and asked the prime minister if his "intention to betray the faith of these devotees".
The protest, which began on Tuesday, was led by members of the Pal Samaj Samiti and supported by sections of the Marathi community and other local groups.
Mahendra Pal of the Samiti claimed that the century-old idol of Holkar at the ghat was removed during the demolition drive. Ajay Sharma, president of the Sanatan Rakshak Dal, alleged that several consecrated idols at the ghat were damaged, calling it an affront to religious sentiments.
Congress's Uttar Pradesh president, Ajay Rai, accused the BJP government of destroying the historic Manikarnika Ghat in the name of renovation, calling it "an attack on the city's soul and Sanatan culture"
Manikarnika Ghat is among the oldest and most sacred cremation grounds in Hinduism and is believed to grant 'moksha', or liberation from the cycle of birth and death, giving it immense religious and cultural significance.
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
