Kejriwal’s Grand ‘Dilli Ki Virtual Ganesh Chaturthi’

Religion and politics go together. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal understands this well, He organized a massive ‘Dilli Ki Ganesh Chaturthi’ ceremony on the banks of the Jamuna near Signature Bridge on Friday evening to mark Ganpati festivities. Some BJP leaders accused Kejriwal of mixing religion with politics. “The CM plays politics 24×7 and he got this event covered live by major television channels and social media at the huge cost of public money to impress Hindu vote bank in the Assembly elections which are few months away in neighbouring states of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and far away in Goa.” Political pundits believe that Kejriwal is digging deep for electoral gains in these states to acquire a national image for his Aam Admi Party (AAP). Last year, the Kejriwal government had organized a mega celebration of Diwali in the Akshardham temple during the Covid pandemic shutdown where the CM and his ministers led the puja dressed in traditional attire. This programme was also telecast live across many channels. Raghav Chadha, AAP MLA in Delhi and national spokesman of his party, told The Sunday Guardian that the saffron Parivar, which is a highly Hindu religious body of people, feel jealous and worried when their Opposition factions perform puja and worship Hindu gods and goddesses. “Have they forgotten when PM Narendra Modi along with UP CM Yogi Adityanath and other BJP leaders had performed puja on the foundation laying ceremony of Ram Mandir in Ayodhya? No other political party leader was invited for this grand event as if Lord Ram is only theirs…the fact is that Lord Ram is of the whole nation.” The Ganesh Chaturthi’ceremonywas attended by Kejriwal along with his council of ministers. The ‘Pandal’ was decorated to showcase exuberance, beauty and divinity. Kejriwal, along with his wife Sunita, installed the idol of Lord Ganesha and offered prayers while a pandit chanted mantras. The Deputy CM Manish Sisodia along with his wife, Environment Minister Gopal Rai, Health Minister Satyendar Jain, Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot, Food and Supplies Minister Imran Hussain, Social Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam, Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goyal and Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla were among other dignitaries present. Eminent singers, Shankar Mahadevan, Suresh Wadkar and Padma Wadkar graced the event. Mahadevan, who joined the ceremony virtually from Mumbai, captivated people with his voice while the ceremony was being held. The Wadkars sang ‘Maha Aarti’. It was performed along by 21 Pandits and 30 dancers and drum beaters.

Girls Victims of Love & Narco Jihad In Kerala: Bishop

Now a Kerala bishop has raised an alarm about “Love and Narco Jihad” by some Muslim fundamentalists in the state, popularly known as “God’s Own Country”. Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt, the Syro Malabar Church Pala diocese, on Thursday said that Kerala’s Catholic girls were now becoming the victims of ‘Love and narcotic Jihad’. He sounded this warning while speaking at a Church celebration in Kottayam district’s Kuruvilangadu. “Wherever arms cannot be used,” the bishop said, “narcotics are being used and it’s here Catholic girls become the victims. And to help this there is a group in Kerala which is functioning. To understand this, one needs to just analyse, how come ladies from other religions reached the IS camps.”

Environment Minister On A Wildlife Yatra

While Union BJP ministers have undertaken “Jan Ashirwad Yatras” in different states, accusing the opposition of jeopardising democracy by stalling the Monsoon session of Parliament, new Environment and Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav has started visiting sanctuaries across India to get better understanding of the ground realities of wildlife protection. The first visit was to the Gujarat sanctuaries. The minister’s next two-day scheduled visit was to the Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand, spread from Hardwar to Dehradun, from Saturday. On 19-20 September, Yadav will go to Kumbhalgarh wildlife sanctuary in Rajasthan. Yadav told The Sunday Guardian that despite his hectic schedule, “I will try to visit as many sanctuaries as I can for a ground check.”

Israel-DRDO Developed System For IAF

MRSAM, a state-of-the-art air and missile system jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and India’s DRDO, was inducted in the Indian Air Force at a ceremony at Jaisalmer IAF station by Defence Minister Rajnath Singhon Friday. It is an advanced path-breaking air and missile defence system that provides “ultimate protection” against a variety of aerial platforms. It is now being used by the IAF, India Army, Indian Navy and Israeli Defence Forces. The system includes an Advanced Phased Array Radar, command and control shelter, mobile launchers and interceptors. At the Jaisalmer ceremony, among the dignitaries present was IAI President and CEO, Boaz Levy, along with other senior civil and military officers. Earlier this year, the two countries had carried out tests at an Indian facility. Boaz Levy told The Sunday Guardian that “The development and production of the system is based on ‘Make in India’ policy.”