'You have the same rights as I have', Bangladesh PM Hasina tells the Hindu community on Janmashtami
Dhaka, Aug 19: The Hindu community in Bangladesh has the same rights as she has, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said, asserting that the number of mandaps in Dhaka during the Durga Puja festivities were much higher than in West Bengal.
Hasina interacted with the Hindu community leaders on Thursday on the occasion of Janmashtami and urged believers of other faiths not to think of themselves as minorities, saying everyone irrespective of their religions will enjoy equal rights in Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority country.
We want people of all faiths to live with equal rights. You are people of this country, you have equal rights here, you have the same rights as I have, the Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted her as saying.
You would always think that you are the citizens of this country and you will enjoy equal rights, the premier noted.
Hasina virtually joined the event at Dhakeswari Mandir in Dhaka and JM Sen Hall in Chattogram from her official residence in Gonobhaban.
We also want to see you in that way. Please don't undermine yourselves. You were born in this country, you are the citizens of this country, she noted.
The prime minister said the number of mandaps in Dhaka is higher than the number in West Bengal or Kolkata, and across Bangladesh during the Durga Puja festivities.
Hasina lamented that whenever an untoward incident occurs, it is propagated in such a manner that the Hindu community don't have any rights in Bangladesh.
Colours are given to that incident in a way that the Hindus have no rights here. And the actions of the government after the incidents don't get proper attention, Prothom Aalo newspaper quoted her as saying.
Hasina said her government and the Awami League did not believe in undermining people from any religion.
We can say it clearly. Our government is very cautious about it. I can assure you that, she added.
The Hindu community is the second largest religious affiliation in Bangladesh according to the 2022 census, constituting approximately 7.95 per cent out of the total 161.5 million population.
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LPG crisis: Karnataka temples gear up to stock wooden logs for ‘Prasada’
Bengaluru (PTI): Temples in Karnataka have started preparations to stock wooden logs fearing that the LPG shortage could hamper the ‘Prasada’ preparation and distributions to the devotees.
The looming LPG crisis in the state in the wake of Iran-Israel conflict has made the temple managements jittery.
According to the Akhila Karnataka Hindu Temple Archakas Federation (AKHTAF) president M S Venkatachalaiah, there is no immediate crisis in the temples.
“We have LPG cylinder stock that can last for a week but if this scarcity continues then there will be a problem in serving Prasada (offerings to the deity) to the devotees,” AKHTAF president said.
He added that many temples in the state have started stocking wooden logs to overcome the LPG crisis.
“Our temples have started preparing to store wooden logs to prepare Prasada though currently we don’t have a problem, at least for a week,” Venkatachalaiah told PTI.
Another priest working in a temple belonging to the state Endowment Department said the temples may have to go back to the traditional way of cooking as done in the ancient time using wood.
The LPG crisis has not affected the mid-day meal programme for government school students yet, though there was a meeting in the Education Department to find ways to tackle if crisis deepens, sources associated with the Mid-day Meal programme said.
Meanwhile, the largest partner of the Mid-day Meal programme in the country is Akshaya Patra.
The NGO said they do not depend much on LPG gas cylinder.
“The LPG crisis has not affected us. Our kitchens are steam-based, and we generate steam through boilers which run on electricity. That’s point number one. Point number two—gas is used only for very minor things, mainly for seasoning. That is the tadka,” an Akshaya Patra executive told PTI.
According to him, the NGO has has a gas reserves for about nearly one month across India, though gas is used in very small quantities every day.
He pointed out that the Mid-day meal programme will not be affected because in one or one-and-a-half weeks, schools will close owing to summer vacation.
Akshaya Patra feeds 23.5 lakh children across more than 24,000 schools across India, in 16 states and three Union Territories, he said.
