Former PM Deve Gowda selected for Maharshi Valmiki Award
Bengaluru: The state government has chosen senior politician, former PM, MP HD Deve Gowda for the Maharshi Valmiki Award of this year.
The government has agreed to honor Deve Gowda with the award based on the recommendations of the committee headed by retired judge Justice HN Nagamohan Das.
Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge, who visited Deve Gowda at his residence at Padmanabhanagar, invited him to the award ceremony and requested the former prime minister to receive the award.
Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy will confer the award during the Maharshi Valmiki Jayanthi function, which will be held on October 24 at the Banquet Hall of Vidhana Soudha.
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Waqf Bill anti-secular, will snatch rights of Muslims: Mamata Banerjee
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday described the Waqf (Amendment) Bill as “anti-secular”, claiming that it would snatch the rights of Muslims.
Banerjee, speaking in the assembly, also said the Centre did not consult with states over the matter.
“The bill is anti-federal and anti-secular; it is a deliberate attempt to malign a particular section. It will snatch the rights of Muslims... The Centre did not consult with us on the Waqf Bill,” she said.
The chief minister added that “if any religion was attacked”, she would wholeheartedly condemn it.
Opposition parties have stridently criticised the amendments proposed by the bill in the existing Waqf Act, alleging that they violate the religious rights of Muslims.
The ruling BJP has asserted that the amendments will bring transparency in the functioning of the Waqf boards and make them accountable.
A parliamentary committee has been constituted to scrutinise the contentious bill.
