S Korean First Lady celebrates Diwali in Ayodhya

Agencies
November 7, 2018

Ayodhya, Nov 7: South Korean First Lady Kim Jung-sook celebrated Diwali in Ayodhya Tuesday, where she was treated to a dazzling display of over three lakh earthen lamps on the ghats of the Sarayu river, besides a spectacular sound-and-light show.

Kim, who attended the "Deepotsav" function at the Ram ki Paidi, also performed a ceremonial "aarti" along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the venue, before being treated to the display of over three lakh "diya" and the sound-and-light show on the water surface.

Earlier in the day, after arriving in Ayodhya around 2:30 pm from Lucknow in a special chopper, Kim began her tour by offering tributes at the Queen Heo Memorial.

Accompanied by Adityanath, she attended the ground-breaking ceremony for the upgrade and beautification of the memorial dedicated to the legendary princess of Ayodhya, who went to Korea and married a king there in 48 AD.

From there, she went to attend the festivities at the Ram Katha Park, where she was greeted by artists donning the avatar of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita, who arrived at the Park in a ceremonial chopper as part of the "Ram Durbar".

Kim garlanded "Sita" as they got off the helicopter and Uttar Pradesh Governor Ram Naik and Adityanath welcomed "Lord Ram" and "Laxman".

In her address at the park, she recalled the historic ties between India and Korea and said she prayed for both the countries as they moved towards a future of peace and prosperity together.

"Darkness cannot defeat light and if we all light lamps together, we can remove any darkness," she said in Korean.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed delight that Kim wore a saree at the event and tweeted pictures of her.

"It is a matter of immense joy and pride that Mrs. Kim Jung-sook, First Lady of the Republic of Korea visited Ayodhya and also wore traditional Indian clothing. The people of India deeply appreciate this gesture. @moonriver365," Modi tweeted.

Kim, in her speech at the park, thanked Modi for inviting her to India.

"Ayodhya and South Korea have an ancient link. This link forms the cornerstone of historical and civilisational bonds between India and the Republic of Korea," Modi said in another tweet.

Kim's standalone visit to India, which began on November 4, has rekindled the interest in the legendary princess who married a Korean king.

According to Korean legend, the princess of Ayodhya went to Korea in 48 AD and married king Kim-Suro.

A large number of Koreans trace their ancestry to this legendary princess, who is known as queen Heo Hwang-ok.

"The legend of queen Heo Hwang-ok binds the two countries together culturally and her (Kim's) visit will further promote our people-to-people ties," a senior official at the cultural wing of the South Korean Embassy in India told news agency.

An agreement regarding the Queen Suriratna Memorial Project was signed to facilitate the upgrade and expansion of the existing monument, commemorating princess Suriratna (queen Heo Hwang-ok).

In July, the two countries had signed the agreement for the expansion of the Suriratna memorial project.

Uttam Das, a seer from Ayodhya, told news agency, "It was a matter of honour for Ayodhya that she (Kim) visited the place."

"A princess of Ayodhya had gone to Korea around 2,000 years ago and now, the first lady is visiting Ayodhya. Life has come full circle," he said.

As part of the Deepotsav festivities, a Ramlila was performed by artistes from Russia, Laos, Cambodia, Indonesia and Trinidad and Tobago.

On Wednesday, Kim is scheduled to go to Agra to visit the Taj Mahal.

Comments

shamshuddin mohammed
 - 
Wednesday, 7 Nov 2018

Dear Mr. Jogi change the name of Kim Jung Souk to Kumari joda sakhi   ok .........

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News Network
February 18,2020

New Delhi, Feb 18: Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot is the richest minister in the AAP government, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) on Monday.

In a statement, the NGO said, Delhi Election Watch and ADR have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all the seven-party leaders including Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

According to the statement, the minister with the lowest declared total assets is Gopal Rai with assets worth Rs 90.01 lakh.

"The minister with the highest declared total assets is Kailash Gahlot from Najafgarh constituency with assets worth Rs 46.07 crore," it stated.

The report by ADR comes on the day Kejriwal and his six ministers took charge after the formation of the new AAP government.

Chief Minister Kejriwal and his cabinet colleagues took charge of their respective offices on Monday and asserted that they would work to fulfil the promises made in the "guarantee card", released during the poll campaign, including reduction in pollution and expansion of metro network.

Members of his Cabinet are -- Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Rajendra Pal Gautam, Imran Hussain, Gopal Rai and Kailash Gahlot.

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News Network
April 15,2020

New Delhi, Apr 15: Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi has been booked for culpable homicide after some of the attendees of the religious congregation died due to coronavirus, police said on Wednesday.

Kandhalvi had organised the religious gathering at Nizamuddin Markaz last month against the social distancing protocol imposed by the Centre to curb the spread of the deadly disease.

An FIR was registered against the cleric on March 31 at Crime Branch police station on a complaint of the Station House Officer of Nizamuddin.

He was earlier booked for holding the event, police said.

“After several attendees of the Tablighi Jamaat event succumbed to coronavirus, we added IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) in the FIR against the leader, a police official said.

Some foreigners who attended the event have also been booked for violation of visa norms.

In an audio message, Kandhalvi had said that he was exercising self-quarantine after several hundreds who visited the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Nizamudddin Markaz tested positive for coronavirus.

The FIR registered against the Tablighi Jamaat event says that the Delhi Police contacted the authorities of Nizamuddin Markaz on March 21 and reminded them of the government order which prohibited any political or religious gathering of more than 50 people.

It says that despite repeated efforts, the event organisers failed to inform the health department or any other government agency about the huge gathering inside the Markaz and deliberately disobeyed government orders.

“The sub district magistrate of Defence Colony inspected the premises several times and found that around 1,300 people, including foreign nationals, were residing there without maintaining social distance. It was also found that there were no arrangements of hand sanitizers and face masks,” the FIR adds.

The Nizamudddin centre, attended by thousands, turned out to be a hotspot for spread of coronavirus not only in the national capital, but the entire country.

More than 25,500 Tablighi members and their contacts have been quarantined in the country after the Centre and the state governments conducted a "mega operation" to identify them.

At least 9,000 people participated in the religious congregation in Nizamuddin. Later, many of the attendees travelled to various parts of the country.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

New Delhi, Jul 28: Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had "unconstitutionally" merged six MLAs of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) with the Congress in Rajasthan, he did the same in his earlier tenure too, for which we wanted to teach him and his party a lesson, said BSP chief Mayawati on Tuesday.

The BSP chief added that her party could have gone to courts earlier but decided to wait for the "right opportunity".

"In Rajasthan, after elections results, BSP gave unconditional support of all its 6 MLAs to Congress. Unfortunately, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, out of his malicious intent and to damage BSP, merged them with Congress unconstitutionally. He did the same even during his earlier tenure," Mayawati said here.

"BSP could have gone to the court earlier too but we were looking for the time to teach Congress party and CM Ashok Gehlot a lesson. Now we have decided to go to the Court. We will not let this matter alone. We will go even to the Supreme Court," she added.

The BSP chief further reiterated that the party has asked the six MLAs to vote against the Congress government led by Ashok Gehlot if a trust vote takes place on the floor of the Rajasthan Assembly, failing which "their party membership will be cancelled".
She further said that the merger of BSP MLAs with Congress was immoral and went against the mandate given by voters in Rajasthan.
"Ulta-chor kotwal ko daante (the thief accuses the cop of wrongs) they (Congress) themselves indulge in wrongdoing and then accuse us," she further said.
On Sunday, the BSP issued a whip to six MLAs, asking them to vote against Congress in case of a no-confidence motion or any proceedings to be held during the Rajasthan Assembly session.

National General Secretary of BSP Satish Chandra Mishra, while speaking to news agecncy said, "Notices have been issued to the six MLAs separately as well as collectively, pointing out that since BSP is a National Party, there cannot be any merger at the state level at the instance of six MLAs unless there is a merger of BSP at the national level. If they violate it, they will be disqualified.

Notices have been issued to all six MLAs- - R Gudha, Lakhan Singh, Deep Chand, JS Awana, Sandeep Kumar and Wajib Ali, who are elected to the Rajasthan Assembly."
However, later on Monday, Lakhan Singh, hit back saying he and the five others had already joined the Congress.

"We six MLAs have already joined the Congress. BSP remembered us after nine months. They have issued this whip, after a message from the BJP. On this basis they are going to court", said Karauli MLA Lakhan Singh.

Rajasthan government is in turmoil after simmering differences between Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot and Gehlot came out in the open. Pilot was removed as the Deputy Chief Minister and the state unit chief of Congress.

The Congress has accused the BJP of indulging in horse-trading to bring down the Gehlot government. The BJP has rejected the allegations.

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