Sambhal, March 12: In a significant move, the Uttar Pradesh (UP) administration has decided to cover ten mosques in Sambhal during Holi celebrations on Friday. March 14 marks a rare sixty-year coincidence of the festival of colours and a Ramazan ‘Jumma’ falling together on the same day.

Briefing the media over the UP administration’s preparedness, Sambhal SP, Shrish Chandra, said that the decision was taken to maintain communal harmony and facilitate the two communities in celebrating their respective festivals with full glee and gaiety.

“A total of ten mosques have been identified which fall in the proposed route of the ‘Chaupai’ procession. All of them will be covered to prevent any disturbance or tension between the two communities,” he said.

He said that the decision has been taken to cover those mosques, from where the ‘Chaupai’ processions (a customary practice during Holi) will cross through and also added that this has been a practice for years.

“The conventional route of the ‘Chaupai’ procession during Holi has been identified and ten mosques along the route will be covered,” he said.

According to reports, an agreement has also been reached to alter the timings of the Friday prayers and ‘Chaupai’ processions, so that the two don’t overlap each other.

The Friday ‘namaaz (prayers)’ will take place either before or after the Holi procession. Also, outsiders won’t have permission to enter mosque premises.

Local authorities and UP Police officials have been given instructions to maintain strict vigil and prevent any untoward incidents from unfolding on the day of the festival.

The ten mosques which will be covered with tarpaulin in Sambhal during Holi celebrations, include the Shahi Jama Masjid, Ladania wali masjid, Thaane wali masjid, Ek raat masjid, Gurdwara road masjid, Gol masjid, Khajoor wali masjid, Anaar wali masjid and Gol dukaan wali masjid.

A peace meeting was also organised at the Sambhal police station, where the religious heads of the two communities discussed and deliberated on ways to prevent any incident of communal strife, during Holi celebrations and the Friday ‘namaaz’.

Patna, March 12: Darbhanga Mayor Anjum Ara has sparked controversy by requesting a two-hour pause in Holi celebrations on Friday from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., citing respect for Jumme ki Namaz (Friday prayers).

“The celebration of Holi can be adjusted, but the time for Friday prayers cannot be changed,” Ara said, urging a break in Holi festivities near mosques and prayer sites.

She emphasised that Holi and Ramzan have coexisted peacefully in the past.

Ara made the statement during a peace committee meeting organised by the Darbhanga district administration on Tuesday evening ahead of Holi and Friday prayers. After the meeting, she reiterated her stance publicly, triggering a political backlash.

Janata Dal-United (JDU) MLC Neeraj Kumar strongly criticised Ara, stating that public representatives should direct suggestions to the appropriate authorities rather than the media. “Law and order is the responsibility of the civil and police administration, not politicians who are giving statements in media. Anyone who disturbs peace will face consequences,” Kumar asserted.

Darbhanga MP Gopal Jee Thakur condemned Ara’s remarks, saying, “Do not provoke the sentiments of Sanatanis while holding a constitutional post. The land of Mithila is known for peace and harmony, and people here celebrate Holi with mutual brotherhood.”

However, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Mohammad Anzar Naimi and JDU Minister Shrawan Kumar both distanced themselves from Ara’s remarks. “If she made any provocative statement, it should be stopped,” Naimi said.

Shrawan Kumar added, “Holi and Ramzan have coincided peacefully in the past, and such statements are unnecessary.”

The local administration has not issued any official directive on the matter.

Following the backlash, Anjum Ara expressed regret over her statement. “Since morning, people have been calling me a Bangladeshi and a traitor. I urge the media to investigate me thoroughly, and if any wrongdoing is found, take strict action,” she said.

She accused the BJP of targeting her, adding, “My only intention was to ensure that all festivals are celebrated peacefully in Darbhanga.”

Kolkata, March 12: After Trinamool Congress announced not to ally with the grand old party in the West Bengal Assembly polls, it is to be seen whether Congress will forge an alliance with the Left Front or go it alone.

Sources in the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) said there is a divided house in the grand old party over the alliance with the CPI(M)-led Left Front.

“Those against any understanding to continue in the 2026 Assembly polls have their logic. Congress first had an alliance with Trinamool Congress in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and 2011 Assembly elections. Their logic is that Trinamool Congress constantly weakened Congress in West Bengal by poaching the latter’s elected public representatives one after another,” said a senior state Congress leader.

“This section also feels that the seat-sharing arrangement with Left Front, which started since 2016 Assembly polls and continued till the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, had blurred the vision of the state Congress leadership to strengthen its organisational strength in the state and instead depend entirely on the seat-sharing arrangement with Left Front,” the leader said.

However, the state Congress leader added that there is an opposite view within the state unit of the party in this matter.

“They feel that Congress’ current organisational strength in West Bengal is in such a state, that any decision to go alone in the 2026 Assembly polls will mean accepting the defeat before the battle is fought. Now since both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee have ruled out all possibilities of any Congress-Trinamool Congress alliance in the 2026 polls, the only alternative for Congress in case of any seat-sharing arrangement is with the Left Front,” the state Congress leader said.

However, he added, Congress’ central high command is not in favour of enforcing any decision on this issue on the state leadership.

“Rather our central leadership wants to reach a decision only after feeling the pulse of the state Congress leadership and more importantly the grassroots level Congress workers. A delegation of the All India Congress committee is expected to be on a tour to West Bengal either in June or July this year which might be headed by our national president Mallikarjun Kharge. This delegation will interact with the different levels of state leadership on this issue and only after that, any decision on seat sharing arrangement will be reached,” said the WBPCC leader.

Complications on the seat sharing agreement are there on the part of CPI(M) as well, which surface from the proposals in the draft political resolution for the 24th party Congress scheduled at Madurai in Tamil Nadu in April this year.

In that draft political resolution, released last month, the CPI(M)’s central leadership focussed more on independent political lines in the coming days rather than on electoral understanding.

“The party should pay more attention to the independent political campaign and mass mobilisation around the political platform of the party. There should be no blurring of our independent identity or diminishing of our independent activities in the name of electoral understanding or alliances,” the draft political resolution of CPI(M) read.

To maintain the independent line, the draft resolution had cautiously touched upon West Bengal and Tripura, where the CPI(M)- led Left Front had electoral understanding and seat-sharing arrangements with Congress in the past elections.

“A significant increase in the strength of the party requires the rebuilding and expansion of the party and the Left in West Bengal and Tripura. In West Bengal, while conducting mass struggles and movements, special attention should be paid to working among the rural poor and organising them. The party has to focus more on the political and ideological fight against the BJP while opposing both the TMC and BJP,” the draft political resolution as regards the West Bengal perspective has stressed.