CM Siddaramaiah backs Cong high command's stand to skip Ram temple consecration ceremony
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday endorsed the Congress high command's decision not to attend the consecration ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying the BJP has turned a religious event into a political affair.
In a statement, the Chief Minister charged the BJP and RSS with having turned a religious event into a party function thereby insulting 140 crore Indians.
Referring to the purported statement of the secretary of the Ram Mandir trust that Shaiva and Shaktas have no authority in the Ram Mandir, he said it has caused a controversy.
Four Shankaracharyas are reported to have boycotted the consecration of the temple "in protest against the misuse of the Ram Mandir for politics", he said.
In a statement on 'X', Siddaramaiah said, "AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader of our party Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who are not participating in the Ramlalla inauguration programme in Ayodhya, are correct in their decision, which I support."
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the leaders of the Sangh Parivar of having 'disrespected' Lord Ram and the 140 crore people of the country by politicising a religious event that should be conducted with devotion and respect for all, regardless of caste, religion, party-sect, into a party function.
"It is a betrayal of all the Hindus that a religious programme, which should have been conducted with devotion has been turned into a political propaganda," Siddaramaiah alleged.
Siddaramaiah underlined that the Congress party has remained committed to its stand since the day the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute began.
Reacting to the statement of the secretary of the Ram Mandir Trust, he said, "It has sparked a controversy. If it is true, it is an insult to all Shaivites."
Alleging that the Prime Minister, who is about to complete 10 years of rule, does not have the confidence to win the elections by presenting his achievements to the voters, Siddaramaiah said for this reason, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, he is hurriedly inaugurating the Rama temple, which is in an incomplete state, and through this, he has tried to cover up his failure by attempting to create a Hindutva wave.
The Chief Minister noted that the people of the country have been seriously observing the politics of BJP and the Sangh Parivar and will never fall victim to their trap.
"People have already started asking for the account of donations collected in the name of brick," he noted.
Averring that Congress was not against Hinduism, the CM said the grand old party is, however, against untouchability, casteism, bigotry and corruption in the name of religion. Also, it is totally against using religion for politics.
"We have no problem with the Hindu religion which has been practiced by many dignitaries of the country including Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekananda, Kanakadasa, Narayana Guru, Kuvempu but we continue to oppose the hypocritic Hindutva of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar, who are using religion for ppolitical gain," he added.
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Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla, Prasanth Nair selected for Indo-US mission to Space Station: ISRO
Bengaluru, Aug 2: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair have been selected for an upcoming Indo-US mission to the International Space Station (ISS), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on Friday.
Group Captain Shukla's name has been recommended as the primary astronaut and Nair will be his backup, ISRO said. This has been done on the recommendation of the NASA-identified service provider Axiom Space Inc, sources in the ISRO told PTI.
In an official release, the ISRO said its Human Space Flight Centre has entered into a space flight agreement with US' Axiom Space Inc, for its fourth mission to the ISS and a National Mission Assignment Board has "recommended two 'gaganyatris' (astronauts) --Group Captain Shukla (prime) and Group Captain Nair (backup)".
"The assigned crewmembers will be finally approved to fly to the International Space Station by the Multilateral Crew Operations Panel (MCOP). The recommended gaganyatris will commence their training for the mission from the first week of August 2024,"ISRO said.
During the mission, the 'gaganyatris' will undertake selected scientific research and technology demonstration experiments on board the ISS and engage in space outreach activities, it said.
"The experiences gained during this mission will be beneficial for the Indian Human Space Programme and it will also strengthen human space flight cooperation between ISRO and NASA," the Indian space agency said.
India and the US are collaborating to send an Indian astronaut to the International Space Station in 2024, American President Joe Biden said after a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Washington last year.
Shukla and Nair are among the four astronauts, whose names were announced by Modi earlier this year for India's maiden human spaceflight mission next year. Two other pilots were Group Captain Ajit Krishnan and Group Captain Angad Pratap.
