
No nuisance will be tolerated during Kanwar Yatra: Delhi CM Rekha Gupta
Rekha Gupta
on Monday said no nuisance will be tolerated during
Kanwar Yatra
, days after
glass shards
were found scattered along a stretch of the yatra route in
Shahdara
.
Speaking at an event, Gupta warned against creating any obstacle in the yatra and said that her government is committed to providing facilities to
kanwariyas
.
"There were glass shards found scattered on a Kanwar Yatra stretch for around 400 metres. No nuisance will be tolerated. If any security hurdle or obstacle is created in Kanwar Yatra, the person will have to answer the government.
"The government will ensure a fully secure and comfortable Kanwar Yatra for
Shiv bhakts
(devotees). We will give full facilities and welcome kanwariyas," she said on the sidelines of an event.
An e-rickshaw driver was detained after glass panels being transported on his vehicle shattered and got scattered along a stretch of the Kanwar Yatra route in Delhi's Shahdara, police said on Sunday.
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The e-rickshaw was carrying 19 glass panels from Shalimar Garden in Uttar Pradesh to Seelampur in Delhi when it was allegedly hit from behind between Chintamani Chowk and Jhilmil Metro station, they said.

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NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"Atmosphere Of Fear": Chandra Shekhar Aazad To NDTV On Kanwar Yatra "Violence"
New Delhi: Azad Samaj Party (Kanshiram) president Chandra Shekhar Aazad has defended the schoolteacher in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly who is facing a police case for a song that purportedly referred to the Kanwar Yatra, an annual procession undertaken by devotees of Lord Shiva. Rajneesh Gangwar, a teacher at MGM Inter College, was seen in the viral video singing the song to students who had gathered in the school premises. "Kanwar leke mat jana, tum gyan ka deep jalana, manavta ke seva karke tum sachche manav ban jaana," he said in Hindi, which roughly translates to: "Don't bring Kanwars, go light the lamp of knowledge. Become a true human by serving humanity." A case was filed against him on Monday after a local corporator and some BJP leaders approached the police and demanded action. Speaking to NDTV, Mr Aazad, a member of the Lok Sabha from Uttar Pradesh's Nagina, said the teacher just talked about "serving humanity". "We believe in the Constitution of India. In Article 51A, which is a fundamental duty, it is stated that every citizen must develop scientific thinking and get rid of superstition and hypocrisy. I heard the teacher. He had appealed to children to become humanists. But the government has filed a case against him for talking about humanity," Mr Aazad, who is also a lawyer, said. He said the teacher had said that you can't become a doctor, engineer or lawyer by participating in the Kanwar Yatra. "What did he say wrong?" Mr Aazad said. Mr Gangwar expressed regret if his words inadvertently hurt anyone's sentiments. In a clarification video and a letter sent to the school principal, he said that he "noticed a continuous decline in student attendance at MGM Inter College." "Upon questioning, he learned that many young students were absent due to their participation in the Kanwar Yatra," he wrote. He said it was in this context that he recited the poem to students during the morning assembly on July 12. His primary objective, he clarified, was "to make young students aware of the dangers of going into crowded areas on roads, staying away from intoxication, and maintaining regular attendance in class." Chandra Shekhar Aazad On Kanwar Yatra "Violence" Chandra Shekhar Aazad also questioned why there was no action against some people who were resorting to "violence" during the Kanwar Yatra, referring to recent incidents of Kanwariyas allegedly damaging cars after they brushed past them. Some of them have "created an atmosphere of terror" among women and children, he said. "People's businesses have been ruined. Their shops have been shut down. One religion in particular is also being targeted," he said, and asked if this is a "secular nation". "They have sticks in their hands and are breaking people's glasses and bones. There is an atmosphere of fear in families. I have talked to many people who are not ready to go from one district to another because they feel that if by mistake something happens, then they will be treated like animals or can be lynched," Mr Aazad said.


Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
AAP's free coaching scheme under scanner, L-G orders probe – ‘will have to account for every penny' says CM Rekha Gupta
Delhi's Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has ordered a probe into alleged corruption in the free coaching scheme for the underprivileged launched by the previous Aam Aadmi Party government (AAP), Education Minister Ashish Sood said on Wednesday. The decision was taken based on the recommendation of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, who in a post on X said, 'Allegations of major financial irregularities have emerged in the 'Jai Bhim Mukhyamantri Pratibha Vikas Yojana' during 2020-21.' Gupta alleged that while the scheme's official budget was ₹ 15 crore, the Arvind Kejriwal government cleared bills worth over ₹ 145 crore. The scheme, launched in 2018, aimed to provide free coaching to SC, ST, OBC, EWS, and minority students at private coaching institutes for various competitive exams, including the UPSC, SSC, NEET, and CLAT. The scheme was discontinued when the new government was formed in February this year. Hitting back at the BJP-led government, the Aam Aadmi Party termed the ACB probe as "vendetta politics." Addressing a press conference, Sood, flanked by SC/ST Welfare Minister Ravinder Indraj, alleged that during 2021-22, private coaching institutes submitted bills of ₹ 145 crore, despite minimal documentation and no proper verification of beneficiaries. "Shockingly, the AAP government did not even ask for a list of students from these institutes before processing the bills," Sood said, adding that after the BJP government came to power, the institutes were asked to submit student details and a list of 13,000 students was received, he said. According to him, verified records, however, showed only about 3,000 students receiving coaching under the scheme. "There was such corruption by the previous AAP government that even Dr Ambedkar's soul would be pained," the minister said. Indraj pointed out that the matter is already under judicial scrutiny and that the government's preliminary findings reveal that about 35 coaching centres failed to provide verified data for even 100 students. He charged that when the COVID cases were going up and lakhs of families were struggling financially, leaders from the previous government, in alleged collusion with "coaching mafias," launched this scam. Sood said the scheme was proposed to coach 4,900 students in 2018 and 2,071 in 2019. However, between July 2021 and August 2022, bills worth ₹ 145 crore were submitted. "Surprisingly, instead of verifying the bills, the AAP government later took the coaching institutes to court over the payments," he added. Sood said, "The average coaching cost is ₹ 1 lakh for IAS, ₹ 50,000 for MBA/CLAT, ₹ 30,000 for SSC/LIC, ₹ 25,000 for Group-C exams and ₹ 10,000 for interview preparation." He added, "Even if we consider that all 3,000 verified students took IAS coaching, the maximum cost would be around ₹ 30 crore. How did it become ₹ 145 crore?" Gupta, in her post, said the Aam Aadmi Party will have to account for every penny. "Their politics has always been a show in the name of Dalits. But when it came to responsibility, they did not hesitate to rob them of their rights. Now their real face will be exposed," she alleged. The AAP in a statement said the saffron party had "shut down a functioning model" of public services in education, health, and electricity, alleging it of indulging in vendetta politics. "Check every brick in Delhi's schools, every needle in our Mohalla Clinics … But after you are done with your witch hunt, start doing some real work," the party said in the statement, urging the BJP to honour the public mandate and focus on governance. The party alleged that civic issues such as power cuts, sewer overflows, and fee hikes in private schools have worsened under the BJP's watch. "Six months have gone by, and not a single step has been taken to address the issues of ordinary citizens," it said. The AAP flagged the BJP's yet-to-be ratified promise of ₹ 2,500 per month to them. The AAP will have to account for every penny. "They have turned 'Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Makaan' into 'Jahan Jhuggi Wahan Maidaan,'" it added.


Hans India
5 hours ago
- Hans India
Kanwar Yatra: When governance becomes management of religious events
It looks like the Yogi Adityanath regime in Uttar Pradesh and large sections of the Sangh Parivar equate governance with the management of religious events. First it was Mahakumbh and now it is Kanwar Yatra. Incidentally, it is not just the government machinery, but life itself finds itself enmeshed in the intricacies of pilgrimages. The Kanwar Yatra, a deeply revered Hindu pilgrimage undertaken in the month of Shravan, draws lakhs of devotees, known as Kanwariyas, walk long distances to fetch water from the Ganga and offer it to Lord Shiva in temples. Over time, this event has evolved from a humble spiritual exercise into a massive and heavily orchestrated religious procession, drawing extensive state support. In UP, as in other BJP-ruled states like Uttarakhand, Haryana, and Delhi, the Kanwar Yatra transforms the civic and administrative landscape for several weeks each year. It is no different this year. As the yatra gains momentum, several districts in UP have taken the extreme step of shutting down schools temporarily. The ostensible reason is to safeguard students amid overwhelming road congestion, traffic diversions, and the general chaos that accompanies the event. District administrations have also rerouted traffic, deployed thousands of police personnel, and put civic services on high alert. Roads are reserved for Kanwariyas, while ordinary citizens face long detours and disruptions to daily life. Worse still, educational institutions being closed for religious reasons sets a problematic precedent. It sends a clear message: spiritual events, when they reach a certain magnitude, can override secular responsibilities like education. Students, particularly from rural and lower-income families who rely heavily on government schools, are the silent victims. Their academic calendar, already fragile due to Covid-related disruptions in recent years, is being tampered with for reasons that are no way related to education. This normalisation of such disruptions reflects a misplaced priority. Thankfully, the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of petitions challenging another controversial move by the state government: a directive mandating eateries and dhabas along the Kanwar route to display QR codes with ownership information. Ostensibly framed as a security measure, critics argue that this directive opens the door to surveillance and possible targeting of minority-run establishments. There is a growing perception that such policies are less about public safety and more about religious profiling, under the guise of administrative diligence. The apex court has rightly sought an explanation from the Uttar Pradesh government on the legality and intent behind this decision. What is alarming is how all stakeholders—administrators, judges, law enforcement—are sucked into the vortex of this religious exercise, willingly or otherwise. From district magistrates to police commissioners, from municipal workers to teachers, almost every arm of governance is redirected to facilitate a pilgrimage. This is not just an expression of religious accommodation but an institutional surrender to spectacle. Governance is becoming indistinguishable from the management of festivals. This must stop. There is nothing wrong with supporting religious events in a secular and diverse democracy like India. It is entirely reasonable for the state to ensure safety, hygiene, and traffic regulation during such events. However, when religious festivities start dictating the tempo and tenor of governance, it becomes problematic. When students are denied education so that roads can be cleared for devotees, when businesses are monitored in the name of religious security, when hospitals, fire services, and administrative offices and that is when one should take such initiative with a pinch of salt.