'In his first speech in Parliament, Modi spoke about the slavery of 1,400 years, and though he didn't say in so many words, the meaning was that he had come to re-establish a Hindu Rashtra.'
In a relief to the Hindu side, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Allahabad high court order allowing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to conduct a scientific survey at the Gyanvapi mosque complex to determine if the 17th-century structure was built upon a pre-existing temple.
The survey was stalled last week amid objections by the mosque committee, which claimed that the advocate commissioner appointed by the court for the survey did not have the mandate to film inside the premises.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have got a tough fight in Varanasi had Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra contested against him as Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) candidate, feel party workers from the temple town.
The electoral battle in Varanasi, according to locals and political experts, is not about whether the PM will win for a third successive occasion, but if he will increase his share of the votes polled and his win margin.
Before the arrival of the court commissioner and his team here, a large crowd of devotees had gathered for Friday prayers.
The petitions filed by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid Committee (AIMC) and the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board had also challenged a Varanasi court order of April 8, 2021 to conduct a comprehensive survey of the Gyanvapi mosque.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached out to the attendees of the Kashi Tamil Sangamam in Varanasi with his speech being translated for the audience in real-time using artificial intelligence.
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The police had made strict security arrangements with heavy deployment of forces at gate number four of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, from where 'namazis' were allowed to enter,
Stating that matters of utmost public importance are coming up for discussion next week, the Whip issued by the Opposition's Chief Whip in the assembly Ajay Dharam Singh has asked all the members to mandatorily participate in the proceedings from December 20-24, from the beginning till conclusion.
Tharoor questioned about the alleged hacking of phones using spyware Pegasus, to which the officials responded that the matter is subjudice.
A district court hearing the Gyanvapi mosque-Shringar Gauri complex case in Varanasi reserved its judgment till September 12 as both the Hindu and Muslim sides concluded their arguments on the maintainability of the suit on Wednesday.
Hindu women plaintiffs who have filed a civil suit before the Varanasi court seeking declaration and asserting the right to darshan and worship Hindu deities whose idols are located on an outer wall of the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi has referred to stand taken by the British government in a 1936 suit seeking it to be declared as Waqf property.
People may belong to any caste and religion, they are not safe, the Congress leader alleged.
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The Supreme Court ordered on Monday that no invasive work would be undertaken by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to determine if the Gyanvapi mosque located next to the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi was built upon a temple and agreed to hear a plea moved by the mosque committee during the day.
The court said the modalities of the survey will be discussed at the next hearing on December 18.
A fresh plea seeking permission to worship the "Shivling" claimed to have been found on the mosque premises during a videography survey ordered by a lower court was also filed.
He said those making jokes on cows and buffaloes forget that the livelihood of crores of people depends on "pashudhan".
There are no riots and curfew in Uttar Pradesh now and all is good, he asserted.
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'There was a strong undercurrent of deprivation, and also frustration against misuse of power and authority.' 'This election was an opportunity for the manifestation of this discontentment.'
The Act prohibits conversion of any place of worship and to provide for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship as it existed on August 15, 1947.
'I have serious doubts about the longevity of the NDA government and the longevity of the 18th Lok Sabha itself.'
Heavy fog engulfed parts of Delhi with the minimum temperature settling at a notch below normal.
Advocate Madan Mohan Yadav, who is representing the Hindu petitioners, said, "The report in sealed cover was placed before the court by the ASI's standing counsel Amit Srivastava."
Reacting to the statement, Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Bhupendra Singh Chaudhary said "insulting the Sanatan Dharma again and again" has become the habit of the Samajwadi Party and its leaders.
The prime minister said he was also grateful to his opponents who fought against him. At the same time he lamented there was a sense of political untouchability, adding Bharatiya Janata Party workers were being killed for their ideology in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala.
'We have devotion towards Gyanvapi so doing something as per that, it's all right. But why look for a Shivling in every masjid?'
The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on April 14 a plea by the Anjuman Intezamia Masjid committee seeking permission for wazu (ritual ablution) at the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi during the month of Ramzan.
In view of the Supreme Court's order to the lower court not to proceed with the matter till Friday, it fixed May 23 for the next hearing, Madan Mohan Yadav, the lawyer representing the Hindu side, said.
'If Mr Modi continues growing as a Hindu Hriday Samrat, better that it is done by restoring ancient temples than demolishing medieval mosques,' says Shekhar Gupta.
Justice PV Kunhikrishnan said the prime minister was elected to power by the people of the country and therefore, what was wrong with having his photograph on the vaccination certificate.
The petition seeks the court's permission for worshipping the idols of the Hindu deities located on an outer wall of the mosque on a daily basis.
Mishra said that the court has fixed July 7 for the next hearing.
The Allahabad high court on Friday ordered authorities to determine the age of the Shivling-like structure inside the Gyanvapi mosque in Varanasi using modern technology.
The Delhi police has registered an FIR against an associate professor of Delhi University's Hindu College for his "objectionable" social media post alluding to claims about the 'Shivling' found inside the Gyanvapi mosque complex, officials said on Wednesday.
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