NEW DELHI/ CHENNAI: The BJP vs ruling DMK battle over live telecast of the Ayodhya Ram temple consecration in Tamil Nadu shrines reached the Supreme Court on Monday, with the apex court asking the authorities to act in accordance with the law and not based on any oral instructions. In the Madras High Court, the state government submitted no permission was needed for related functions in private enclosures.The HC held Bhakti towards God is only for peace and happiness and not to disturb the social equilibrium.
Later, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai, both of whom had alleged on Sunday that such a ban was in place, witnessed on large TV screens in temples, the Ayodhya Sri Ram mandir Pran Pratishtha. The Saffron party alleged the DMK regime is ‘anti-Hindu’ and people would teach a fitting lesson to the ruling party in the Lok Sabha polls.
A Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, while hearing a plea seeking quashing of an “oral order” dated January 20 banning live telecast of the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya in temples across Tamil Nadu, said no one is bound to abide with the oral orders.
The bench took on record the statement of senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari for Tamil Nadu that there are no restrictions on ‘puja archana’ in temples or live telecast of consecration ceremony at Ayodhya.
In its order, the bench said, “we believe and trust that the authorities will act in accordance with law and not on the basis of any oral instructions, which, as stated on behalf of respondent nos. 2 to 4 (TN government), have not been issued”.
The bench asked the authorities to put on record the reasons and maintain the data of applications which has been allowed for ‘puja archana’ and live telecast of consecration ceremony in temples and those which have been disallowed.
Annamalai, speaking to reporters in Chennai after watching the event live in Sri Venugopalaswamy temple at downtown Gopalpuram said the ruling DMK regime created a situation for the BJP to pursue legal struggle to ensure performance of special pujas, other events and public screening of the Ayodhya ceremony.
The Venugopalaswamy shrine is located next to the residence of late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi.
Several events including ‘Annadhanam’ were held in temples by Saffron party workers and devotees in various parts of the state.
The Pran Pratishtha ceremony was also shown on TV screens by Right wing activists in many places of the state.
Annamalai said that only after legal battles in the Madras High Court and in the Supreme Court, people were able to conduct pujas, bhajans and distribute ‘Annadhanam’ and witness the Pran Pratishtha event in private places, privately run temples and in shrines under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department’s ambit.
Nirmala Sitharaman said the DMK regime did not change its stand till the last minute and she and others continued to receive message of travails faced by the people who tried to mark the Ayodhya ceremony by holding celebratory events. She thanked the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court for their directives.
Only after the courts orders, they were able to put up an LED screen and witness the ceremony at the Kancheepuram Kamakshi temple run by the Kanchi Sankara Math, she said adding the courts ‘established the right’ of Hindus. People were very happy about watching the event live, she added.
The temple town of Kancheepuram is the home town of DMK founder and Dravidian icon CN Annadurai (1909-1969).
Annamalai underlined that legal struggle became a ‘compulsion,’ and alleged the ‘DMK government is against the people’s faith.’ The happenings over the past three days has reinforced again that ‘the DMK regime is against the Hindu people,’ and people will teach a lesson to the ruling party in the Lok Sabha polls scheduled to be held in April-May.
While the HR and CE ‘orally’ prohibited events and police stopped such celebratory events through written orders, as many as 21 orders in writing were attached in the petition filed by the BJP in the Supreme Court.
The Madras High Court order pointed out that no police permission was needed for events in private places and intimation was suffice in the case of HR and CE managed temples, the BJP leader said.
These two court verdicts would show the extent to which the DMK regime tried in an ‘autocratic’ manner to scuttle the events to mark the Ayodhya ceremony, he said.
To a question, Annamalai said that in Chennai and nearby areas alone, events were held in as many as 1,142 places to mark the Ayodhya ceremony.
He and others from his party witnessed the Ayodhya ceremony at the Chennai Gopalapuram temple based on invitation from the temple trustee. By barring events, the DMK government has created an ‘upsurge’ (of devotion) in Tamil Nadu, he said.
The Madras High Court, recording the Tamil Nadu government’s submission on the matter said the “above stand taken by the State Government and the Police makes it quite clear that conducting the function considering the auspicious occasion, singing Bhajans/ uttering Rama Nama, (conducting) Annadhanams is not per se prohibited or restricted and 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. 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,” Justice N Anand Venkatesh said and disposed of the petition.
Later, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai, both of whom had alleged on Sunday that such a ban was in place, witnessed on large TV screens in temples, the Ayodhya Sri Ram mandir Pran Pratishtha. The Saffron party alleged the DMK regime is ‘anti-Hindu’ and people would teach a fitting lesson to the ruling party in the Lok Sabha polls.
A Supreme Court bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, while hearing a plea seeking quashing of an “oral order” dated January 20 banning live telecast of the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya in temples across Tamil Nadu, said no one is bound to abide with the oral orders.
The bench took on record the statement of senior advocate Amit Anand Tiwari for Tamil Nadu that there are no restrictions on ‘puja archana’ in temples or live telecast of consecration ceremony at Ayodhya.
In its order, the bench said, “we believe and trust that the authorities will act in accordance with law and not on the basis of any oral instructions, which, as stated on behalf of respondent nos. 2 to 4 (TN government), have not been issued”.
The bench asked the authorities to put on record the reasons and maintain the data of applications which has been allowed for ‘puja archana’ and live telecast of consecration ceremony in temples and those which have been disallowed.
Annamalai, speaking to reporters in Chennai after watching the event live in Sri Venugopalaswamy temple at downtown Gopalpuram said the ruling DMK regime created a situation for the BJP to pursue legal struggle to ensure performance of special pujas, other events and public screening of the Ayodhya ceremony.
The Venugopalaswamy shrine is located next to the residence of late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi.
Several events including ‘Annadhanam’ were held in temples by Saffron party workers and devotees in various parts of the state.
The Pran Pratishtha ceremony was also shown on TV screens by Right wing activists in many places of the state.
Annamalai said that only after legal battles in the Madras High Court and in the Supreme Court, people were able to conduct pujas, bhajans and distribute ‘Annadhanam’ and witness the Pran Pratishtha event in private places, privately run temples and in shrines under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department’s ambit.
Nirmala Sitharaman said the DMK regime did not change its stand till the last minute and she and others continued to receive message of travails faced by the people who tried to mark the Ayodhya ceremony by holding celebratory events. She thanked the Madras High Court and the Supreme Court for their directives.
Only after the courts orders, they were able to put up an LED screen and witness the ceremony at the Kancheepuram Kamakshi temple run by the Kanchi Sankara Math, she said adding the courts ‘established the right’ of Hindus. People were very happy about watching the event live, she added.
The temple town of Kancheepuram is the home town of DMK founder and Dravidian icon CN Annadurai (1909-1969).
Annamalai underlined that legal struggle became a ‘compulsion,’ and alleged the ‘DMK government is against the people’s faith.’ The happenings over the past three days has reinforced again that ‘the DMK regime is against the Hindu people,’ and people will teach a lesson to the ruling party in the Lok Sabha polls scheduled to be held in April-May.
While the HR and CE ‘orally’ prohibited events and police stopped such celebratory events through written orders, as many as 21 orders in writing were attached in the petition filed by the BJP in the Supreme Court.
The Madras High Court order pointed out that no police permission was needed for events in private places and intimation was suffice in the case of HR and CE managed temples, the BJP leader said.
These two court verdicts would show the extent to which the DMK regime tried in an ‘autocratic’ manner to scuttle the events to mark the Ayodhya ceremony, he said.
To a question, Annamalai said that in Chennai and nearby areas alone, events were held in as many as 1,142 places to mark the Ayodhya ceremony.
He and others from his party witnessed the Ayodhya ceremony at the Chennai Gopalapuram temple based on invitation from the temple trustee. By barring events, the DMK government has created an ‘upsurge’ (of devotion) in Tamil Nadu, he said.
The Madras High Court, recording the Tamil Nadu government’s submission on the matter said the “above stand taken by the State Government and the Police makes it quite clear that conducting the function considering the auspicious occasion, singing Bhajans/ uttering Rama Nama, (conducting) Annadhanams is not per se prohibited or restricted and 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. 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,” Justice N Anand Venkatesh said and disposed of the petition.
