#Uttar Pradesh Congress

[rightnewshindi]

हाई कमान ने उत्तर प्रदेश कांग्रेस के नेता दिल्ली किए गए तलब, जानें क्या होने वाला है बड़ा बदलाव

Uttar Pradesh News: उत्तर प्रदेश में साढ़े तीन दशक से सत्ता का वनवास झेल रही है कांग्रेस के लोकसभा चुनाव में मिली जीत से हौसले बुलंद हैं. कांग्रेस ने अब यूपी संगठन की पूरी तरह से ओवरहालिंग करने का प्लान बनाया है. कांग्रेस ने अपने तमाम जिला और शहर अध्यक्षों को बदलने की रूपरेखा बनाई है, जो एक्टिव मोड में काम नहीं कर रहे हैं. कांग्रेस निष्क्रिय नेताओं की छटनी करके संगठन में तेज-तर्रार नेताओं को जगह…

[teznews]

EVM से फर्जी वोट डाले जाते है.. BSP देश में अब कोई भी उपचुनाव नहीं लड़ेगी- मायावती

बसपा प्रमुख मायावती ने कहा पहले देश में बैलेट पेपर के जरिए चुनाव जीतने के लिए सत्ता का दुरुपयोग करके फर्जी वोट डाले जाते थे और अब तो EVM के जरिए भी ये कार्य किया जा रहा है, जो लोकतंत्र के लिए बहुत दुख और चिंता की बात है। देश में लोकसभा और राज्यों में विधानसभा चुनावों के साथ-साथ खासकर उपचुनावों में तो अब ये कार्य काफी खुलकर किया जा रहा है। लखनऊ -उपचुनाव नहीं लड़ने के फैसले का ऐलान करते हुए मायावती…

[indianfasttrack]

उत्तर प्रदेश के वाराणसी में अपराध का बढ़ता ग्राफ

उत्तर प्रदेश के वाराणसी में पुलिस और प्रशासन की लापरवाही के कारण लगातार बढ़ते अपराध को लेकर नगर मजिस्ट्रेट बार कॉनसील अधिवक्ताओं ने मिलकर न्यायाधीश को ज्ञापन सौंपते हुए कार्यवाही की मांग की है। (Increasing graph of crime in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh) विशेष संवाददातावाराणसी- उत्तर प्रदेश के वाराणसी में बढ़ते आपराधिक घटनाओं पर चिंता व्यक्त करते हुए, युवा कांग्रेस के जिला अध्यक्ष और अधिवक्ता श्री…

[townpostin]

Congress Leader Slams BJP Over UP Name Plate Controversy

Dr. Ajoy Kumar accuses BJP of ‘state-sponsored fanaticism’, predicts All India Alliance victory in Jharkhand Former MP criticizes BJP’s divisive policies, questions party’s commitment to tribal welfare and state development. JAMSHEDPUR – Former MP and senior Congress leader Dr. Ajoy Kumar launched a scathing attack on the BJP, condemning their recent actions in Uttar Pradesh and their policies in…

[mohabbaat]

congress is getting seats in up I'm genuinely laughing rn

uttar pradesh is literally going for that #1 spot on the top 10 betrayals list. 😭

[kuch-toh-garbad-hai-daya]

Indian Elections: The Campaign and how much it worked (Part 1)

Since the results are out, let's talk about it (as if we haven't been doing it since the last few hours) properly.

First of all, Uttar Pradesh voters, you people are betrayers. I'm not saying it, BJP & its supporters are. But seriously, Samajvadi Party's campaign for this year was definitely strong. Yogi really thought that it's going to be a piece of cake didn't he. Thank you voters for showing them the ground reality. Ayodhya, Amethi, Raebareli, the trinity of my joy.

Rajasthan. Yes, BJP won here with 14 seats. But lost 10 seats. Congress really shone on its own here, gaining 8 seats when in the last election, it was on the zero mark. Sachin Pilot and that man alone worked on Rajasthan. Honestly they need to put him front and center.

Madhya Pradesh is 100% a well-deserved BJP sweep. Let's not forget that it's not the Modi factor that worked here, it was Shivraj Singh Chauhan. That man worked his ass off during Vidhaan Sabha campaign last year and it really paid off in Lok Sabha. (God, I still remember women crying when he didn't become the Chief Minister).

I guess it was tough for West Bengal voters, no? I'm not much familiar Bengal politics but from what I've heard, they had to choose between two evils. Still, Didi gets 29 out of 42 seats, leaving BJP and Congress on the 6 and 1 mark respectively.

Lmao, they fucked up in Bihar. I can rant for hours about this. The seat distribution was already messed up, but Nitish Babu leaving put the nail in the coffin. BJP and JD(U) won 12 seats each, with RJD and Congress winning 4 and 3 respectively. Left also got 2 or 3 seats. I'm glad Pappu Yadav (on Purniya seat) won nirdaliye. Well deserved.

As for Odisha, I guess people have lost all the hopes in Naveen Patnaik, because BJD remained on zero, BJP getting all of its seats (20). Congress won 1 seat here.

I don't have much to say about Delhi. It's a BJP sweep. I guess AAP didn't get to campaign much since Arvind Kejriwal was literally put in jail? I'm still salty that Kanhaiya Kumar lost.

That's all for now, rest in the next part.

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

Hi sorry I have to disagree. I don't know about your state but where I'm from the candidates aren't local people and half the time they are away. One person representing your issues in parliament is a myth 90 percent of the time. The prime minister and his party's decisions have more direct weight in my daily life than my representative's who at the end of the day does what is convenient to his party. This is the sad reality of this country unfortunately. I don't like Congress and Rahul either but he's much lesser of the two evils. The country is at a crisis. We owe it to our non-hindu friends and neighbors to vote with responsibility and not compromise their safety. Let's face facts - Mamata or Kejriwal is not going to win and voting for them or other regional parties will only divide the opposition vote which is exactly how BJP won last time.

I'm SUPER late in answering this ask, sorry. But also actually very timely in the sense that my point was proven in the Lok Sabha elections.

BJP and Congress aren't your only options. They can try to peddle us the lie that they are but that's simply not true. For the most part, politics in this country plays out on a HIGHLY localised scale, which means the gigantic homogeneity of national parties' agendas really doesn't hold up practically. Other parties exist, INDEPENDENT candidates exist(and a few even won, which I'm extremely happy to see).

It was also a very interesting election cycle because even though the BJP did eventually form the majority in the Lok sabha, they had to SCROUNGE for it. Far different from the "400 paar" narrative they were selling. And now we're at the point where we've returned to the norm of having a coalition government. Make no mistake, a one party majority government was an anomaly. The present is still unfolding and we don't know what will happen next but we can see the cracks forming inside the BJP party doors as well. We still have the state elections of several legislative assemblies upcoming so we'll see how the parties perform.

My state(Uttar Pradesh) did a very funny thing in the Lok Sabha elections and is directly responsible for the BJP NOT getting a majority. Which is very interesting since we had to live through a decade of people flattening the politics here to the "cow belt" stuff and basically writing it off entirely. Just goes to show that nothing is written in stone, after all.

My biggest hope is that what this election did is remind people that their vote actually did matter, at the end of the day.

-Mod S, dedicating this one to the anon who loves the quotes but hates our political opinions

[mohit66211]

Bharat Bandh Live Updates Today: Bharat Bandh Today As Opposition, Dalit Groups Protest Top Court's Quota Order

Congress leader Tika Ram Jully, Rajasthan's Leader of the Opposition, has accused the ruling BJP of trying to "weaken" the reservation system.

Bharat Bandh Live Updates Today:  A 'Bharat bandh' to protest the Supreme Court's 'quota within a quota' decision about reservations in state government jobs and colleges for SC and ST candidates was held in parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and other states on Wednesday.

Bharat Bandh Live Updates Today: The strike was called by two dozen Dalit and Adivasi groups - including the Reservation Bachao Sangharsh Samiti - and backed by political parties, including Bihar's Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party in Madhya Pradesh.

[rightnewshindi]

सोशल मीडिया पर रोती हुई नजर आई कांग्रेस नेता रोशनी कुशल, भाजपा नेता को मारे थे थप्पड़; जानें पूरा मामला

Uttar Pradesh News: उत्तर ��्रदेश के वाराणसी के रहने वाली एवं भारतीय युवा कांग्रेस की राष्ट्रीय सचिव रोशनी कुशल जायसवाल का यूथ कांग्रेस ने अपने एक्स हैंडल पर एक वीडियो पोस्ट किया है, जिसमें रोशनी कुशल रोते हुए लोगों से मदद मांग रही हैं। उन्होंने जिला प्रशासन और यूपी सरकार पर गंभीर आरोप लगाए हैं। बता दें कि शुक्रवार दोपहर को उनके घर पर कुर्की का नोटिस पुलिस ने चस्पा किया था। इसके बाद उन्होंने ये…

[teznews]

Sambhal Jama Masjid Survey- संभल शाही जामा मस्जिद के सर्वे के दौरान पथराव,हंगामा उपद्रवियों को हिरासत में लिया

Jama Masjid Survey Live: एसपी ने कहा कि उपद्रवियों ने मस्जिक के बाहर उपनिरिक्षकों की गाड़ियों में आग लगाई थी. साथ ही पथराव किया था. फिलहाल, हालात काबू में हैं. जामा मस्जिद में पुलिस के जवानों पर पथराव और आगजनी की गई. घटना को लेकर उप मुख्यमंत्री केशव प्रसाद मौर्य ने सख्त एक्शन लेने की बात कही है. तो वहीं, पुलिसकर्मी और उपद्रवियों के बीच झड़प हुई. उत्तर प्रदेश के संभल की शाही जामा मस्जिद के सर्वे…

[beardedmrbean]

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Shayara Bano heaved a sigh of relief on Wednesday at the enactment of a law banning polygamy in her small Indian state, the culmination of a years-long effort including her own case before the nation's Supreme Court.

"I can now say that my battle against age-old Islamic rules on marriage and divorce has been won," said Bano, a Muslim woman whose husband chose to have two wives and divorced her by uttering "talaq" three times.

"Islam's allowance for men to have two or more wives at the same time had to end," she told Reuters.

But Sadaf Jafar did not cheer the new law, which abolishes practices such as polygamy and instant divorce, even though she has been waging her own court fight against her husband for marrying another woman without her consent.

"Polygamy is permissible in Islam under strict rules and regulations but it is misused, said Jafar, who is seeking alimony to support their two children. She says she did not consult Islamic scholars as she hoped Indian courts would provide justice.

The adoption of the Uniform Civil Code in the state of Uttarakhand has opened a chasm between women in India's largest religious minority, even among some whose lives were turned upside-down when their husbands entered multiple marriages.

Some, like activist Bano, 49, celebrate the new provisions as the overdue assertion of secular law over parallel sharia rulings on marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption and succession. For others like Jafar, Muslim politicians and Islamic scholars, it is an unwelcome stunt by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party.

Adoption of the code in Uttarakhand is expected to pave the way for other states ruled by Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to follow suit, over the angry opposition from some leaders of the 200 million Muslims who make India the world's third-biggest Muslim country.

RIGHTS IN MULTI-RELIGIOUS SOCIETY

BJP leaders said the new code is a major reform, rooted in India's 1950 constitution, that aims to modernise the country's Muslim personal laws and guarantee complete equality for women.

A 2013 survey found 91.7% of Muslim women nationwide saying a Muslim man should not be allowed to have another wife while married to the first.

Still, many Muslims accuse Modi's party of pursuing a Hindu agenda that discriminates against them and imposes laws interfering with Islam. Sharia permits Muslim men to have up to four wives and it has no stringent rules to prohibit the marriage of minors.

Jafar, who has run for office with the main opposition Congress party, calls the passage of the code a tactic of Modi's government to showcase Islam in a bad light and divert attention from pressing issues like improving the livelihood of Muslims.

The Supreme Court in 2017 found the Islamic instant divorce unconstitutional, but the order did not ban polygamy or some other practices that critics say violate equal rights for women.

In addition to the polygamy ban, the new code sets a minimum marriageable age for both genders and guarantees equal shares in ancestral property to adopted children, those born out of wedlock and those conceived through surrogate births.

While BJP leaders and women's rights activists say the code aims to end regressive practices, some Muslim politicians say it violates the fundamental right to practice religion.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board called the code impractical and a direct threat to a multi-religious Indian society.

"Banning polygamy makes little sense because data shows very few Muslim men have more than one wife in India," said board official S.Q.R. Ilyas, adding that the government has no right to question sharia law.

Jafar, who lives with her two children in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, said, "Islam has enough provisions to provide a life of dignity. We don't need (the code) but what we need is swift justice for women fighting for their dignity."

[cyndaquillt]

I'm sorry to bother you but all the elections stuff is really confusing me and i don't know what's happening

I'm not at the age of voting but will be by the time of the next elections

Again sorry to be a bother

Not a bother at all! And good on you for wanting to learn about this stuff already! The more informed you are by the time you are of voting age, the more informed of a decision you can make 🙂

Full disclosure, I'm not a social scientist or anything, just an average Indian citizen/voter with some academic expertise (not in this field). If someone reading all this finds something wrong, please feel free to point it out, preferably politely.

TL;DR : Indian parliamentary system is built to thrive on diverse viewpoints representative of its people. An attempt to smooth out dissensions and differences without healthy discussion goes against a democratic system. What we are happy about this week is election of a healthy opposition and a coalition that has the potential of keeping power concentration into one hands in check.

This is a bit of an expansive topic but I'm gonna break down certain key terms that you're gonna hear a lot in the news or other election commentary in the next few days. I'm not sure how much of a background knowledge you already have, so this is super long and detailed. Sorry about that in advance! Take your time reading this, or use it as a reference. Up to you! Follow up questions are more than welcome.

The Indian Parliament: The Indian Parliament is split into two houses, the Lower House or the Lok Sabha/House of the People, and the Upper House or the Rajya Sabha/Council of States. Lok Sabha members are appointed through elections while Rajya Sabha members are selected by the State Legislative Assemblies (Vidhan Sabha) and the President. When a new law is proposed as a bill or an ammendment to the constitution is proposed, it must pass through BOTH the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

The Lok Sabha: Lok Sabha has a total of 543 seats, representing 543 electoral constituencies throughout the country. Note that these 543 constituencies aren't exactly based on existing district divisions (eg: The Ayodhya district in UP is in the Faizabad constituency). Constituencies are split by population density. This means a region with more people will have more seats/stronger voice in the Lok Sabha. As a result, the largest state by area, Rajasthan has 25 seats in the Lok Sabha, while the most densely populated state of Uttar Pradesh has 80 seats in the Lok Sabha despite being the 4th largest state in the country. Also means if a political party bags UP, it gives them a huge leg up in winning Lok Sabha elections. To form a government, a political party or a group of political parties (a coalition) needs to have majority in the Lok Sabha. This mean winning over 272 seats or in other words, winning majority votes in 272 or more constituencies. Lok Sabha elections happen every 5 years, and the one that just happened, was a Lok Sabha election.

Important parties and alliances to keep in mind while parsing the news and comments are :

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP): The ruling party that formed the government in the past two Lok Sabha terms (10 years). Note that in the 2014 and 2019 elections, BJP won a majority without forming an alliance with any other party. BJP's core politics are right-wing, which typically translates to capitalism, socially conservative, and maintaining class hierarchy as a form of order and structure in society.

Indian National Congress (INC or Congress): The main opposition party against the BJP. Indian National Congress's politics are liberal/center. While their polities don't entirely dismantle class/caste divide, they don't entirely aim to privatize sectors or take capitalism as the end all be all.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA): BJP-led coalition that secured majority in Lok Sabha elections and will form the government for the upcoming election term.

Indian National Development Inclusive Alliance (INDIA): Congress led coalition which didn't get the majority, but did secure 232 out of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. Even though those that are part of the INDIA coalition won't be forming the government, they will be present in the Lok Sabha as the elected representative of their respective constituency to voice their opinion on any motion that passes through the Lok Sabha.

Janta Dal (United) or JD(U): A political party from Bihar led by Nitish Kumar. JD(U) is currently part of the NDA, however JD(U) joined NDA pretty much right before the elections. As a matter of fact, Nitish Kumar has a tendency to switch sides depending on what he thinks would ensure his power and position. In 2014, when it became apparent that BJP was aiming for a Modi-led government and that Nitish, as someone who is not formally in BJP, didn't stand a chance of even being a cabinet minister, much less the Prime Minister, Nitish left NDA. However, back then, BJP managed to get a clear majority and Nitish's pullback didn't have weight. However, with JD(U) winning 12 seats in this election and BJP having to rely on a coalition government, Nitish's pullback has weight. At the time of writing this, word on the street is Nitish is sticking with the NDA and has made demands for 2 cabinets being handed over to JD(U) (See below cut for info on what is a cabinet).

Telugu Desam Party or TDP: Led by Chandrababu Naidu, TDP is a party with a stronghold in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Currently also in the NDA coalition, TDP managed to win 16 seats in Andhra Pradesh. While Chandrababu Naidu isn't as much of a flip-flopper as Nitish, he has been fairly outspoken against the Modi government in the past. That being said, word on the street is also that Naidu garu may have been offered the position of the Lok Sabha Speaker (as in the person who mediates Lok Sabha discussions) and to also assign 2 cabinet berths to TDP in exchange for their continued support of NDA.

Other notable parties and names:

- DMK : Won 22 seats in Tamil Nadu. Is in the INDIA coalition/opposition. Led by M. K. Stalin.

- AITC or TMC: Won 29 seats in West Bengal. Is in the INDIA coalition/opposition. Led by Mamata Banerjee.

- SP : Won 37 seats in Uttar Pradesh. Is in the INDIA coalition/opposition. Led by Akhilesh Yadav.

All in all, the Indian parliamentary system allows for diverse voices and points of view to be a part of the discussion regarding national policies and lawmaking, even if the said voice doesn't make the ruling government. Something also to keep in mind about Indian politicians specifically is that they rarely think about public welfare and rather prioritize their personal hold on power. None of them are above the other when it comes to scheming on how to maintain power and these schemes often involve tactics to deflect their accountability towards the people.

In its decade long term, BJP as a ruling party has invested on multiple levels to maintain a one-man stronghold. I want to keep this answer objective and won't comment on any specific ruling. However, know that a one-man stronghold and a weak opposition defeats the purpose of the parliament and the constituencies. What most people are celebrating today is having a healthy opposition in place in addition to a coalition which would be a sort of check against power being concentrated into one person's hand.

When you vote in the next election, keep in mind that Indian politicians aren't like bands or artists you should root for. What you will be electing them to are positions of public service. Their priority is power and YOUR vote helps them have that. You are not answerable for their loss, THEY are answerable to YOU.

Also whoever you elect to the Lok Sabha is among the candidates in your constituency. A random schmuck from South Delhi who voted for BJP didn't vote for Modi, they voted for Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, the BJP candidate running from South Delhi. You could make the argument 'they voted for Modi Sarkar!' but the real, flesh and blood person that vote put in the parliament was not Narendra Modi, it was Ramvir Singh Bidhuri. Only people in Varanasi could vote directly for Modi because he contested from there. Had Modi lost the Varanasi seat, he wouldn't have been a member of the Lok Sabha. In which case, even if BJP or NDA made the government, Modi would have to become a part of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha in the next six months to be chosen as the Prime Minister. Long story short, learn more about the constituency you are in, the candidates and parties in that constituency, the demographic of your community, the problems it faces, and in light of all of that, who is the best candidate to represent your community's voice in the Lok Sabha.

Adding an additional note cabinets, but I think that's a little tangential so it's under the cut. Again, follow up questions more than welcome. Hope this helps you make some sense of the mess that is Indian electoral politics!

Cabinets and Socialism: A Cabinet Minister assumes leadership of one of the 53 ministries within the government. Most countries around the world, regardless of their government system, have a similar structure. Though, I do want to point out that India is a Socialist Republic. What this means, is that there are entire sectors that are folded into a centralized, government funded cabinet as opposed to a third party, like a private company, being responsible for it. Indian Railways are a great example for this. From literally manufacturing trains to operating railway stations to laying down rail lines to issuing tickets, the Ministry of Railway is responsible for all of it. While Indian Railways do have subdivisions to handle different aspects, the Minister of Railways is in-charge of the management of ALL of those subdivisions. There are also sectors like Aviation or Telecom where while the government doesn't own ALL airlines or telecom companies, the government does have it's own public funded unit (Air India in case of aviation and BSNL and MTNL in case of Telecom) and there are cabinet ministers who oversee the management of these units in addition to laying out guidelines and regulations which the entire sector has to follow.

Socialist structures with their govt centralized system help regulate cost and keep cost inflation in check because the purpose of a cabinet that runs on government money is public service, not profit margin (eg: general compartment train tickets are affordable and have been affordable for a long time). In the meantime, privatization of sectors may increase efficiency of a service (eg: Ministry of External Affairs outsourcing passport services to TCS has been a huge success), it may also drive cost inflation, unless checked on by the ministry responsible for the third party contract. We will find out who in the NDA will lead which cabinet on June 8.

[head-post]

Modi claims victory in Indian general election, but falling support pushes for coalition

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his alliance’s victory in the Indian general election, according to AP News.

He claimed a mandate to push his programme, although his party lost ground to a stronger-than-expected opposition. It opposed his controversial economic course and polarising policies.

Today’s victory is the victory of the world’s largest democracy.

Modi told his party’s headquarters on Tuesday that Indian voters had “shown immense faith” in both his party and his National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition.

Official results from the Indian Election Commission on Wednesday showed that the NDA won 294 seats. This is more than the 272 seats needed to win a majority, but still far less than expected. For the first time since its Hindu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power in 2014, it did not secure a majority on its own. In 2019, it managed to win a record 303 seats.

The Congress Party won 99 seats, improving its result from 52 in the 2019 elections. The Samajwadi Party also secured 37 seats in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, a major disappointment for the BJP. Meanwhile, the All India Trinamool Congress won 29 seats in the state of West Bengal and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam gained 22 seats in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

The opposition INDIA coalition won a total of 232 seats. Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Programme at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, stated:

At the very least, the result pricks the bubble Prime Minister Modi’s authority. He made this election about himself. Today, he is just another politician, cut to size by the people.

Read more HERE

[warningsine]

"January 22, 2024 is not merely a date in the calendar but heralds the advent of a new era," Modi said, speaking outside the temple to the Hindu deity Ram, built on grounds where a mosque stood for centuries before it was torn down in 1992 by Hindu zealots incited by members of his party.

That demolition triggered the worst religious riots since independence – killing 2,000 people, most of them Muslims – and shook the foundations of India's officially secular political order.

Tens of thousands of chanting and dancing devotees waving flags, honking horns and beating drums have converged on the northern town of Ayodhya, with roads clogged, trains packed full and the rest marching in on foot.

Few members of Ayodhya's Muslim community were seen joining the jubilant street party.

But for Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the opening of the Ram Mandir temple is a landmark moment in a decades-long campaign to align the country's governance with its majority faith.

"The Lord has made me an instrument to represent all the people of India", Modi said when he launched an 11-day ritual fast ahead of the "auspicious" opening.

Tycoons, cricketers and actors

Excitement has reached a fever pitch, with thousands of Hindu believers dancing in packed streets as giant loudspeakers blast out religious tunes.

Vijay Kumar, 18, took four days to reach the town after walking and hitchhiking 600 kilometres (370 miles).

"We just wanted to be here," Kumar said. "We just wish to see the temple before we leave."

About 2,500 musicians are expected to perform on over 100 stages for the crowds of pilgrims, desperate to see the elaborate temple, built at an estimated $240 million that the project's backers say was sourced from public donations.

The 140 kilometres (87 miles) between the town and Uttar Pradesh state capital Lucknow is a seemingly endless stream of billboards of blue-skinned Ram with bow and arrow – as well as of Modi and the region's chief minister, the saffron-robed Hindu monk Yogi Adityanath.

Bukesh Rajiybng, 54, travelled for three days in a jam-packed train to attend the celebration.

"It's a moment we have all dreamed of for decades," he said. "I think the people and Ram will definitely bless Modi for this."

Other attendees jetted in to the newly built international airport and will stay at a crop of hotels built to cater to the millions of pilgrims expected to visit each year. 

Among the celebrity guests at the opening are Indian tycoons, former national cricket captain Virat Kohli and Bollywood titan Amitabh Bachchan.

'Death and destruction'

Modi and the BJP have sought to bring the Hindu faith to the forefront of public life since sweeping to power a decade ago.

Party luminaries regularly condemn earlier eras of Islamic rule over parts of India as a time of "slavery" when their own religion was oppressed, with Ayodhya a key plank in their narrative.

Devout Hindus believe Ram, one of the most revered Hindu gods, was born in the town more than 7,000 years ago, but that the Babri mosque was built over his birthplace by a 16th-century Muslim emperor.

The BJP played an instrumental role in public campaigning that eventually led to the mosque's demolition.

The destruction presaged the rise of the BJP and Modi as unstoppable electoral juggernauts, displacing the secularist Congress party that had governed India almost without interruption since independence from Britain.

Modi's consecration of the temple alongside Hindu priests will again project him as a defender of the faith ahead of a general election expected to begin in April.

The BJP is heavily favoured to win a third successive landslide victory, in part because of Modi's appeals to Hindu nationalism, and opposition parties are boycotting the temple ceremony, saying the event will be a thinly veiled campaign rally.

Many of India's 200 million Muslims, already anxious in a climate of increased sectarian tensions, have watched the clamour around the temple with trepidation.

Mohammed Shahid, 52, speaking to AFP last month in Ayodhya, recounted how his father was burned alive by a mob.

"For me, the temple symbolises nothing but death and destruction", he said.

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Will immerse our medals into Ganga, sit on hunger strike at India Gate, say protesting wrestlers

India's top wrestlers, including Sakshee Malikkh, Vinesh Phogat and Bajrang Punia, said they will immerse their medals into river Ganga on Tuesday and then sit on an indefinite hunger strike at India Gate. Since April 23, the grapplers have been protesting against WFI chief Brij Bhushan Singh over sexual harassment allegations levelled against him.

India’s top wrestlers, who were recently detained and removed from their protest site at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, have said they will immerse their medals into river Ganga in Haridwar on Tuesday and then sit on an indefinite hunger strike at India Gate.

Wrestlers including Sakshee Malikkh, Bajrang Punia and Sangeeta Phogat, put out a statement on their respective Twitter handles, saying the grapplers would go to Haridwar and immerse their medals into river Ganga at 6 pm.

“These medals are our lives, our souls. There would be no reason to live after immersing them into the Ganga today. We will stage a hunger strike until death at India Gate after that,” read the statement in Hindi.

Since April 23, the grapplers have been protesting against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh over sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by female athletes, including a minor.

Dramatic visuals emerged from the wrestlers’ protest march as hundreds of cops and paramilitary personnel blocked their advance towards Parliament House on May 28. As the protesters tried to breach the security cordon, a fierce tussle broke out — the wrestlers and cops pushed, shoved and grappled with one another.

In the joint statement, the wrestlers said the Prime Minister “who calls us our daughters”, did not even once show his concern for the grapplers. “Rather, he invited the ‘oppressor’ (Brij Bhushan Singh) to the inauguration of the new Parliament building. He even posed for photographs in bright white clothes. We have been stained by this brightness,” it said.

The statement said, “Where is the place for the daughters of India? Have we been reduced to people indulging in mere sloganeering or do we have an agenda to come to power?”

“We are going to immerse these medals into river Ganga… The more sacred we consider the Ganga, the more sacredly we had achieved these medals by toiling hard. These medals are sacred for the whole country and the right place should be in the Ganga itself,” it said.

The protest, which started on April 23, at Jantar Mantar saw heartbreaking visuals on the day of the new Parliament building’s inauguration when Delhi Police cracked down on them in the midst of their march. An FIR was lodged against the wrestlers for taking out the march to the new Parliament building, mentioning that their protest would hamper “national prestige”.

The wrestlers, who resumed their sit-in last month after the first round of protests in January, have been demanding the arrest of Brij Bhushan Singh, also a BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh’s Kaisarganj.

Opposition leaders, including Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee have condemned the Centre over their inaction against Brij Bhushan Singh.

The WFI chief dismissed the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by some female grapplers.