Chennai: At a time when the Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) in Tamil Nadu has been alleging that the Chief Minister M.Ok. Stalin-led Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) authorities has been making an attempt to impede celebrations round Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir inauguration in Tamil Nadu, Governor R.N. Ravi stated Monday that there was a “pervasive sense of invisible fear” among the many employees of the Sri Kodandaramaswami Temple within the Tamil Nadu capital.
The governor’s feedback got here after a go to to the temple earlier within the day.
In a publish on his official web page on social media platform X (beforehand Twitter), Ravi stated, “This temple is under HR&CE Dept [Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department]. There was an all pervasive sense of invisible fear and apprehensions writ large on the faces of priests and temple staff. A stark contrast to the festive environment in the rest of the country. While the entire country is celebrating the Pran Pratishtha of Ram Lalla, the temple premises here exude a sense of acute repression.”
Earlier Sunday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had posted on X alleging, “TN govt has banned watching live telecast of Ayodhya Ram Mandir programmes of 22 Jan 24. In TN there are over 200 temples for Shri Ram. In HR&CE managed temples no puja/bhajan/prasadam/annadanam in the name of Shri Ram is allowed. Police are stopping privately held temples also from organising events. They are threatening organisers that they will rip off pandals. Strongly condemn this anti-Hindu, hateful action.”
Calling the state of affairs “heart-breaking”, she claimed that folks have been threatened for organising bhajans, feeding the poor, and celebrating with sweets. Referring to the stay protection of the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya Monday, she stated, “Cable TV operators are told that there is a likely power-shut down during the live telecast. This is the I.N.D.I Alliance partner DMK’s anti-Hindu efforts (sic).”
In the meantime, DMK Minister for Hindu Non secular and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE), P.Ok. Sekar Babu stated in an announcement Sunday, “HR & CE hasn’t imposed any limitations on devotees’ freedom to offer food, conduct poojas in the name of Shri Ram, or provide prasad in Tamil Nadu temples.”
Calling it a diversionary tactic to remove the individuals’s consideration from the DMK Youth Convention which was underway in Salem over the weekend, Sekar Babu stated “It is a matter of concern that people in high office, like Union Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman and others, are purposefully propagating this erroneous information.”
Nevertheless, BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit president Ok. Annamalai had additionally in a sequence of social media posts Sunday, referred to alleged restrictions on celebrating the pran pratishtha of Ram Lalla within the Ayodhya temple.
The matter had additionally reached the Madras Excessive Court docket and Supreme Court docket Monday. Whereas the previous held no police permission was required to telecast this system in personal locations, the latter directed the state authorities to think about purposes, if any moved looking for permission for stay telecast in line with regulation.
Referring to the alleged restrictions, political analyst Sumanth C. Raman posted on social media, “Whoever advised TN Govt to not allow LED screens for the telecast of Ram Mandir Pran Prathistha in private places needs to be suspended forthwith. It is a political blunder and now the High Court has allowed it, they have been made to look silly. And Anti Hindu too.”
On 18 January, the Tamil Nadu CM’s son and the state’s Minister for Youth Welfare and Sports activities Growth, Udhayanidhi Stalin, in interacting with he had reiterated his grandfather and occasion patriarch M. Karunanidhi’s phrases and stated, “DMK is not against any religion or religious belief but construction of a temple by demolishing a masjid that was there is what we are not in agreement with.”
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‘No one can stop us’
On Sunday, Annamalai shared a purported audio dialog between a Hindu devotee and an alleged HR & CE govt official the place the “official” is heard saying that there was “oral instruction” that there could be no particular pooja (on the event of the Ram Mandir pran pratishtha). The authenticity of the audio clip couldn’t be verified by ThePrint.
In one other publish the state chief of the BJP additionally posted a picture of a purported sequence of directions, allegedly from the extra director normal of police (ADGP, regulation & order) to all superintendents of police (SP).
Annamalai stated, “The DMK Government has ministers who are inefficient, corrupt and a bunch of liars. Below are the screenshots of instructions passed on by ADGP L&O to his SPs instructing to obstruct the celebration of the Pran Pratishtha across TN. TN has become a draconian state under the DMK Government, and Thiru MK Stalin’s actions are synonymous with the actions of the Tyrant Joseph Stalin. I challenge the TN Govt to disapprove the below screenshots & to file an FIR on me & I will submit the entire sequence of conversations to the court.”
He had additionally alleged the “DMK government in TN has taken their anti-sanathana charma stand to an extreme level.”
In the meantime, a Madras Excessive Court docket bench of Justice Anand Venkatesh in a particular sitting Monday to listen to a plea towards the alleged ban on annadanam and bhajans in personal locations within the state, stated no police permission was required to telecast this system in personal locations. Justice Venkatesh additional stated that in temples beneath the HR & CE division, a previous info to the manager officer would suffice.
“Permission is not required to play bhajans, offer annadhanam or live stream of Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha at private temples, mandapams or other such places. Permission of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department must be obtained only for temples that fall under its control (sic),” stated the HC order.
The order added: “It must be borne in mind that all this will be done in a responsible and pious manner today without giving rise to any law and order problem. No misinformation or wrong information must be permitted to be spread and this will be kept in mind by all parties concerned .”
The decide additional famous, “Ultimately everyone concerned must keep in mind that bhakti towards God is only for peace and happiness and not to disturb the equilibrium prevailing in the society.”
The Supreme Court docket, which additionally heard an emergency writ petition within the Supreme Court docket Monday on the problem, directed the TN authorities to think about purposes looking for permission for stay telecast of the pran pratishtha ceremony in Ayodhya in line with regulation, and in addition instructed the state to keep up the information of purposes acquired and allowed. If any purposes have been rejected, detailed orders on rejection ought to be recorded in written, the apex court docket directed.
Whereas the state authorities has claimed no order limiting pooja on the event of the pran pratishtha of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya had been handed, the BJP has alleged “oral instructions” got by the federal government to the involved departments
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Occasion (BJP) state vp Vinoj P. Selvam had alleged in a writ petition filed in Supreme Court docket alleged that the Tamil Nadu authorities had banned stay screenings of the Ayodhya occasion, annadanams, bhajans and particular poojas on the auspicious event of Ram Lalla’s pran pratisthha in Ayodhya. Such arbitrary train of energy by the state authorities (via police officers) per se violates elementary rights assured beneath the Structure, he stated.
Following the Madras Excessive Court docket and Supreme court docket orders, the state BJP President had despatched out a video message, hours earlier than the pran pratishtha ceremony was to begin in ayodhya, saying, “No one can stop us from watching the program in private places, and you don’t have to listen to the police if they come up asking you to stop the screening. Meanwhile, in temples HR&CE executive officers have to be informed in writing and that we have informed. So, as the pran prathishta is to take place in less than an hour, we are sharing this video to inform all of you.”
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
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