Ajmer priests not to help Pakistanis in prayers

May 7, 2013

Ajmer_priests

Jaipur, May 7: Khadims (priests) at the dargah (shrine) of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer have decided not to assist Pakistani pilgrims in offering prayers at the shrine.

Several groups of khadims have decided to join the increasing protests against the killing of Sarabjit.

About 640 pilgrims from Pakistan will be visiting Rajasthan's Ajmer town later this week.

The pilgrims are expected to arrive in Ajmer May 12 to participate in the 801st Urs of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti.

Ahead of the Pakistanis' visit, various organisations -- including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Shiv Sena and the BJP -- have been staging demonstrations in Ajmer, some 150 km from Jaipur.

The Pakistani delegation is likely to stay here for a week.

"We have decided not to assist any of the Pakistani pilgrims in offering prayers at the shrine. Prayers are not possible without khadims. We demand that the Indian government does not provide visas to any of the pilgrims," said a khadim.

He added that the visit could be a conspiracy by the Pakistani government to increase communal disharmony in India.

Another khadim, Natik Chisty, said the anger is brewing over Sarabjit's death, so visa should not be granted to Pak pilgrims.

The Shiv Sena staged a protest May 2 at the Ajmer district headquarters, demanding withdrawal of visas to the Pakistani group coming to Ajmer.

The Yuva Jat Mahasabha has also threatened to show black flags to Pakistani citizens in Ajmer.

The Urs is the annual event commemorating the death anniversary of Sufi Saint Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti at the dargah (shrine built over the grave). The Urs features night-long singing of qawwalis, and is held over 15 days. This time, the Urs will be held May 7 to May 22.

About five lakh devotees from different parts of the world participate in this event. This year, it is estimated that over seven lakh people will visit the city for the Urs.

The spiritual head of the 13th sanctuary shrine of Khawaja Moinuddin Chishti, Diwan Sayed Zainual Adebdin Ali Khan, had condemned the brutal attack that led to the death of Sarabjit Singh in a Lahore hospital, and said such an attack went against the tenets of Islam.

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News Network
February 28,2020

Feb 28: National oil marketer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) on Friday said it is ready to supply low emission BS-VI fuels from April 1 and that there will be a marginal increase in retail prices.

The largest oil supplier has spent over Rs 17,000 crore to upgrade its refineries to produce the low-sulfur diesel and petrol, the company's chairman Sanjiv Singh told reporters here.

Without disclosing the quantum of price increase, Singh said, “there will definitely be a marginal increase in retail prices of the fuels from April 1 when the whole country will be run on new fuels, which will have a sulphur content of only 10 parts per million (ppm) as against the present 50 ppm.

“But let me assure you, we will not be burdening the consumers with a steep hike,” Singh said.

He said, state-run oil marketing companies (OMCs) have invested Rs 35,000 crore to upgrade their refineries, of which Rs 17,000 crore have been spent by IOC alone.

Earlier this week, the sell-off bound BPCL said it had invested around Rs 7,000 crore for the same. ONGC-run HPCL has not so far disclosed its readiness for BS-VI supplies or its capex on the same.

HPCL had said from February 26-27 it was ready with BS-VI fuels and that it would sell only the new fuels from March 1.

IOC switched to BS-VI fuel production a fortnight ago and all its depots and containers are ready now, Singh said.

However, he said some remote locations, where the intake is very low, will take some more time to switch. But the company is planning to drain out the entire BS-IV stock and replenish the new fuels at such locations, he added.

Further, it has been reported that the companies will have to increase prices by 70-120 paise a litre, but Singh said, to arrive such a weighted average is not possible given the complexities of each refinery.

He, however, asserted that the price hike will not be a burden on consumers.

We are not looking at this investment from a pure return on investment basis, but this is a national mandate and we have done it.

Having said that, all those countries that moved to low emission fuels are charging higher prices; and from April 1, our prices will also be benchmarked against Euro VI prices as against the present practice of the cost-plus model, Singh concluded.

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Agencies
July 30,2020

Kochi, Jul 30: The Kerala High Court on Thursday refused to grant the extension for the stay of a 74-year-old US citizen, Johnny Paul Pierce, who had earlier said that he felt safer to remain in India than in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The single-judge bench of Justice CS Dias, which considered the writ petition, observed that the grant or extension of visa to foreign nationals fall exclusively within the domain of the Government of India (GoI) and that judicial review in such matters is minimal.

The power of the GoI to expel foreigners is absolute and unlimited, the bench said.

"In view of the categoric declaration of law by the Supreme Court, the plea of the petitioner to permit him to stay back in India cannot be accepted, as it falls within the purview of the guidelines and the discretion of the Government of India," the order said.

"The petitioner cannot be heard that the guidelines/policies/regulations formulated by the Government of India, that an American national though has been granted a visa having validity of five years has to leave India within 180 days, is irrational or unreasonable," it added.

The High Court, which was hearing a plea to permit the US citizen to stay in India for a further period of six months, said that the petitioner does not have a case that there is an infraction of Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

"The petitioner was well aware of the visa conditions when he arrived in India, and it is too late in the day for him to raise a grievance on the visa conditions," the bench said noting that the petitioner's love for India was heartening.

The High Court also directed the Foreigners Registration Officer to consider the petitioner's representation within a period of two weeks in accordance with the applicable guidelines and policies.

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News Network
June 2,2020

New Delhi, Jun 2: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said India will definitely get its economic growth back as the government continues to pursue various reforms.

Speaking at industry association CII's annual session, he said the government has taken tough steps to fight the coronavirus pandemic and has also taken care of the economy.

"On the one hand we have to safe lives of our people and on the other hand we have to stabilise the economy and speed up the economy," he said.

He said he gets the confidence from farmers, small businesses and entrepreneurs for getting the economic growth back.

"Corona may have slowed our speed (of growth) but India has now moved ahead from lockdown with the phase one of unlock. Unlock Phase-1 has reopened a large part of the economy," he said.

He said intent, inclusion, investment, infrastructure and innovation are crucial for India to revert back to a high-growth trajectory.

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