KS Bhagawan's book on Lord Ram kicks up row; Right-wing outfits protest
Bengaluru, Dec 28: Right-wing organisations Friday staged a demonstration against academician and author K S Bhagawan, accusing him of depicting Lord Ram in poor light in his book and making derogatory references.
The Kannada book "Rama Mandira Yeke Beda" (Why Ram temple is not required) claims Ram was not a God and he suffered from weaknesses just as any other human being.
Bhagawan, who had courted controversy by making certain references to the Bhagavad Gita that are termed as "offensive" by right-wing outfits, has made unflattering observations about Ram's character in his book.
The author, however, defended his work, saying it was based on Valmiki's Ramayana.
Pro-Hindu activists staged a demonstration in front of his house Friday and courted arrest.
BJP's Karnataka unit also targeted Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy over his "silence" on the issue and demanded that Bhagawan be arrested immediately.
"Will @hd_kumaraswamy govt that arrested Journalist Santosh Thammaiah for speaking against fanatic Tippu also dare to arrest K S Bhagawan for abusing Lord Ram & his cheap statements on Hinduism. Why govt is protecting this offender by providing security instead of arresting?" the party tweeted.
State senior BJP leader and MLA S Suresh Kumar said in a Facebook post that the state government had two choices "either it should jail Bhagawan or send him to mental hospital".
Meanwhile, Kannada news channel journalist Ajith Hanumakkanavar received death threat from the operators of a Facebook page "Mangalore Muslims" for allegedly hurting their religious sentiments while debating on the book written by Bhagawan Thursday.
The admin of the Facebook page threatened the journalist to seek apology within two days in a live programme or else he would be killed.
As the book snowballed into a big controversy, police strengthened security around Bhagawan's house and asked him to avoid going to any place alone.
Speaking to PTI, Hanumakkanavar said he had decided to lodge a police complaint and seek protection.
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13 lakh litres of 'Rail Neer' supplied to train passengers daily: Government
New Delhi (PTI): Approximately 13 lakh litres of packaged drinking water -- 'Rail Neer' -- are being supplied to train passengers across the railway network daily, the government informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Wednesday.
Apprising the Lower House about the Indian Railways' endeavour to provide safe and potable drinking water facilities at all stations, the government also provided zone-wise details of the water vending machines (WVMs) installed there.
"To ensure the quality of drinking water being made available at the railway stations, instructions exist for periodical checking and required corrective action to be taken.
"Regular inspection and maintenance of drinking water facilities is carried out and complaints are attended to promptly," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while responding to a question raised by BJP MP Anup Sanjay Dhotre seeking to know the supply of drinking water at railway stations across the country
"Complaints regarding deficiency in services, including water supply, are received through various channels such as public complaints, web portals, social media, etc. These complaints are received at various levels, including the Railway Board, zonal railways, division office, etc.," Vaishnaw said.
"The complaints so received are forwarded to the concerned wings of Railways and necessary action is taken to check and address them. As receipt of such complaints and action taken thereon is a continuous and dynamic process, a centralised compendium of these is not maintained," he added.
Providing zone-wise details of water vending machines, the minister said 954 such machines have been installed across railway stations.
"The Indian Railways also provides safe and affordable packaged drinking water bottles -- Rail Neer -- approved by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in trains and at stations," Vaishnaw said.
"Approximately, 13 lakh litres of Rail Neer are being supplied per day to the travelling passengers in trains and at stations across the Indian Railways network," he added.
