The wonderful hobby of throwing mud at each other

We know that those who live in glasses houses should not throw stones. We have also been taught that when we point a finger at somebody, another four fingers point back at us. One also remembers the instance of a group of men and women who wanted to punish a woman by pelting her with stones. Jesus Christ stood beside the woman and said he who has never committed a crime could throw the first stone. And – no one threw stones at the woman. However, today throwing mud at each other has become the norms. Recently, a huge scam came to light in Bengal. The Enforcement Directorate ED believes that Partho Chatterjee, a senior minister of the ruling Trinamool Congress TMC, was involved. He had engineered the scam, along with Arpita Mukherjee, a celebrity of the film industry. The total value of the scam is yet to be ascertained by the authorities. They say it runs into several crores of rupees. It has come as a shock to the TMC and its leaders are trying to reduce the damages by throwing mud at other political parties like the BJP that is in power at the center. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, TMC Supremo, has already sacked the minister. Mamata Banerjee sacks minister Partha Chatterjee after cash haul at his aide’s residence

Incidentally, there are leaders in other political parties, who are equally if not more corrupt. Those who are close to these politicians know the truth but prefer to remain silent spectators for fear of serious repercussions. Spilling the beans could end up in loss of lives for the men or loss of face for the women and girls. The fact remains that when there is a scam and it blows out of proportion, the opposition tries to divert attention. They draw a red herring across the trail to dilute the issue. Politicians treat these as wars and justify their actions by saying - everything is fair in love and war. The Ajay Devgan movie Gangajal of 2003 is a depiction of how those in politics treat others. Things have not changed much over the last nearly two decades.

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Devotees of Lord Shiva climb 410 steps to Pahari Mandir in Ranchi for Shravani Mela

The month-long Shravani Mela has begun and thousands of devotees of Lord Shiva thronged to the Pahari Mandir in Ranchi to climb the 410 steps to pay their obeisance to the Lord. This hill temple is located 2,140 feet above sea level atop Ranchi Hill and devotees came to offer gangajal, bel leaves and flowers to Pahari Baba.
The Shiv bhakts, dressed in their best, trekked the stairs leading to the temple amidst chants of "Jai Bhole Baba".
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 21 July 2016.

Local vendors did brisk business with nearly forty kiosks on the path leading to the temple. These were selling puja items such as bel leaves, gangajal and milk. They usually earn between Rs 400 and Rs 500 on a normal day but, during this Shravani Mela, they make over Rs 2,000 per day.
Jharkhand Postal department has put up a kiosk selling gangajal. The price is Rs 10 nfor a 110ml bottle, Rs 18 for a 240ml bottle, Rs 25 for a 450ml bottle and Rs 22 for a 700ml bottle.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Modi's plan to sell Gangajal hits a roadblock - Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati objects

The government has recently announced its plan to sell Gangajal through its post offices but it has come in for severe criticism from holy persons. The principal disciple of the seer and convener of the campaign Swami Avimukteshwaranand Saraswati has penned a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi - in the letter he has demanded that the government immediately stop the plan.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 2 June 2016.

In the letter, the seer has said that Indians revered Ganga as mother. He has also said that the Prime Minister himself believes that Ganga is the soul of India. Tat is the reason that he chose to contest Lok Sabha election from Varanasi and had remarked that 'Maa Ganga ne mujhe bulaya hai'.
Hence, when the ministers are planning to sell Gangajal, it amounts to selling the mother.
The seer has added that if there is any formal order of the government on the subject, it must be withdrawn immediately. He has cautioned that if the government wants to earn money by selling Gangajal, it could lead to an agitation.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Soon post offices in Jamshedpur to sell Ganga jal, toothpaste etcetera

Once upon a time, the post offices used to be a busy place selling post cards, stamps and sending telegrams or money orders. But, with the advent of an electronic lifestyle and the entry of the internet, those days of dependence on manual service has gone. Today, it is the age of e-mails and SMSs. Hence, the initiative taken by Jamshedpur, the Indian Posts is turning over a new leaf. It will be selling Ganga jal and products like toothpaste.
This has been reported in telegraphindia.com dated 30 April 2016.

The latest news is that Bistupur head post office in Jamshedpur, under the Singhbhum Circle of India Post, would begin to retail Gangajal from Haridwar in bottles of different quantities. The holy water would be in bottles of 100ml, 350ml and 450ml and would be priced at Rs 12, Rs 18 and Rs 22, respectively. Moreover, a few Patanjali products like chyawanprash, toothpaste, rosewater, dalia and amla candy would be on the shelves. The post office has already started selling eco-friendly solar lamps and, from May, it will offer more services like accepting energy bills and selling judicial and non-judicial stamp papers.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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