The organisers, however, remained unfazed, insisting it was in line with the 'communal harmony' theme chosen by the committee for this year's puja.
More than 750 constituencies spread across four states and one union territory will go to the polls on Tuesday
The restoration work, held up for more than 200 years, took nine months to be completed.
Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, charged the government with not delivering on its various promises, including generating two crore jobs per year.
Police have initiated action against independent MLA P C George who had levelled derogatory charges against the victimised nun.
Gogoi's final journey began on Tuesday morning from Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where he breathed his last due to post-COVID-19 complications, to his official residence in Dispur.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said he had a "very warm meeting" with Pope Francis and discussed a wide range of issues, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the challenge posed by climate change, with the head of the Roman Catholic church and also invited the Pontiff to visit India at an early date.
A former Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam child soldier-turned-politician was acquitted by a court in Sri Lanka on Wednesday in the 2005 murder case of a senior ethnic Tamil lawmaker at the height of the country's bloody civil war.
Catholic Bishops Conference of India, apex body of the Catholic priests in the country, on expressed displeasure over government's decision to organise Yoga day on June 21, saying Sundays are "sacred day" for Christians in the country.
"The wall was constructed with the support of the church by the upper class members of the church some 20 years ago and nobody has dared to intervene fearing backlash," said Prof Selva Kumar, a local Dalit Christian from Trichy
Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce will seek divine intervention ahead of Sunday's clash with Premier League leaders Leicester City after watching his relegation-threatened side fail to convert dominance into goals last weekend.
'Goa is a tiny state, but in terms of its Business of Politics, several powerful lobbies of India are involved in it, be it the mining lobby, hoteliers' lobby, casino lobby, hawala lobby, drugs lobby etc.'
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa held a meeting in Amritsar with the deputy commissioner, the police commissioner, the inspector general of police (border range), the Amritsar Rural Senior Superintendent of Police and other officials after the incident.
The Christian community, which has been critical of the Bharatiya Janata Party government following "attacks" on churches, on Friday welcomed US President Barack Obama's comments on religious intolerance in India, saying he spoke about the reality and pro-active action was required to ensure social harmony.
Promising to positively consider several representations of Christians including site for cemetries, Palaniswami, in an apparent reference to his party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party for assembly polls likely in April, said electoral tie-ups were different from ideology.
The explosion took place at St Mark's Cathedral, main Coptic Christian cathedral, in Abbassyia district of central Cairo around 10:00 am when the prayers were on, according to a statement by the ministry of health.
The hunt for the remaining two accused persons is on, Additional DCP (southwest) Ingit Pratap Singh said. Police said there was no political angle behind the incident.
Amid huge cheers from supporters, Chakraborty, borrowing a dialogue from one of his films, said, "Ami joldhorao noi, bele borao noi... ami ekta cobra, ek chobol-ei chobi (Don't mistake me for a harmless snake, I am a cobra, can kill people in one bite)," he said.
According to officials, ten men and three women died and 28 head of cattle perished in cyclone related incidents despite authorities evacuating as many as 81,948 people to 471 relief centres in Cuddalore, Nagapattinam, Ramanathapuram, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Tiruvarur districts.
'What happened last Sunday is a great tragedy, an insult to humanity'
Slamming the public outcry over the alleged delay in action against Jalandhar Bishop, Auxilary Bishop of Changanassery Archdiocese, Thomas Tharayil sought to know whether declaring a person guilty without an investigation and trial was also a new Kerala model.
In a jubilant moment for the Christian community in India, two beatified candidates from Kerala Fr Kuriakose Elias Chavara and Sister Euphrasia will be conferred sainthood by Pope Francis at Vatican on Sunday.
Vandalism of the statue of the apostle of peace comes during the week of nationwide protests against the custodial killing of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25.
Another man was left seriously injured in a hostage drama, while three nuns and a worshipper escaped unharmed.
Pompeo, who became the Trump administration's highest ranking official to visit Sri Lanka, said that the US and Sri Lanka shared a vision for democracy to build a relationship and the "freedom to hold democratic elections".
'Segregation suits the BJP at the moment. It will not suit them forever.'
The Tamil Nadu state unit of the BJP has been alleging that its leaders have been systematically being attacked/murdered in the state. A Ganesh Nadar bring to light five cases where workers of the BJP or its affiliate organisations were attacked to find out if there is any truth in the charges.
On this joyous occasion, rediff.com wishes all its readers 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,' as we a take a look at pictures of Christmas festivities from across the globe.
'If you want to really grow, it has to be geometric progression like it happened at the Centre or Haryana or Tripura, where you made a quantum jump.' 'This is possible in Kerala provided we present a better alternative with a great leadership, but the current leadership is busy fixing each other.'
Cutting across party lines, chief ministers and others leaders urged the people to follow the self-imposed curfew from 7 am to 9 pm, noting that "social distancing" was key to breaking the chain of infection, as the number of coronavirus cases rose to 283 after 60 new cases were detected on Saturday, the highest so far in a day, and states like Maharashtra, Odisha and Bihar imposed partial lockdown till month end.
While Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan questioned 'the haste shown' in reopening the temples, state Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran said the decision was only in line with the Centre's guidelines in allowing places of worship to permit entry of devotees.
Normal life was affected across Orissa on Monday due to the 12-hour bandh call given by saffron outfits, including ruling coalition partner Bharatiya Janata Party, to protest the killing of Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati.There were reports of stray incidents of violence from communally-sensitive Kandhamal, where the VHP leader and four others were gunned down by a group of armed persons on Saturday.
It is increasingly clear that for the BJP to try and establish itself as an electoral force in Tamil Nadu, the party has to come out of the old Brahminical mould, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
'No, the liberals haven't lost because there weren't any liberals in the fray to begin with.' 'What has happened is that left-wing orthodoxy has lost to right-wing orthodoxy.' 'That is at best a Pyrrhic victory for India,' argue Sonali Ranade and Sheilja Sharma.
Midnight tolling of bells, decked up Christmas trees, long row of candles and carols sung in unison marked Christmas celebration across the country, as the faithful thronged churches to offer prayers and exchange gifts.
From the middle of next week, shops, personal care, gyms and churches can reopen as part of a bolstered three-tiered system. As part of the restrictions, people will be expected to continue to work from home if they live in a Tier 1 region; in Tier 2, alcohol can only be served with a meal; and in Tier 3, all forms of hospitality except takeaways will have to close.
'It is deeply humbling and provokes feelings of profound shame to visit this place that witnessed such atrocities hundred years ago'
Driven from its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Islamic State is down but not out. Where once they confronted armies, the extremist Islamist group's adherents have now staged hit-and-run raids and suicide attacks. In some cases, the group has claimed responsibility for atrocities, including the bombings of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka that killed at least 253 people. Its involvement is not always proven, but even if the link is ideological rather than operational, Islamic State still poses a security threat in many countries.
Modi's plain-talk on zero tolerance against religious discrimination applies to those who convert tribal and poor Hindus "by deception".
The government had issued standard operating procedures for devotees and officials managing places of worship to ensure strict implement of coronavirus-related protocols and curb spread of the infection.
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