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Scrap weekend curb on temples: Tamil Nadu BJP to govt
Tamil Nadu BJP chief Annamalai said that the DMK government “has shown urgency” to open cinema theatres and schools, accusing chief minister MK Stalin’s family of controlling the movies production and party cadre of running private schools.
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unit president K Annamalai on Thursday demanded the DMK-ruled state government open places of worship on weekends, currently shut due to Covid-induced restrictions, and protested in front of 12 major temples in the state to sound his disagreement over the decision.
Annamalai also gave the state government an ultimatum to roll back the decision in ten days. “If they do not do it, we don’t have a choice than to go against the government and all its activities,” Annamalai told reporters. “We will take to the streets, and this government will not have a choice other than to listen to people’s voices.”
Annamalai led the demonstration in front of Kalikambal temple in Chennai’s Harbour constituency, from where the minister for Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR & CE) Sekar Babu was elected. “They are pushing their ideology into people’s personal space, and our sacred temples in the name of Covid control,” the leader of the saffron party said. “The second wave is pretty much contained in Tamil Nadu. Vaccination has crossed 4.7 crores. Seroprevalence also says we are in safe territory,” he said.
He said that the DMK government “has shown urgency” to open cinema theatres and schools, accusing chief minister MK Stalin’s family of controlling the movies production and party cadre of running private schools. He added that the government should have allowed temples, churches and mosques to continue being open.
“This is the same government who, when they were in opposition, said that if they come to power, they will not follow the Centre’s rules related to Covid-19 because a state has to decide on its own in a federal set-up. But now, they’re showing the advisory circular of the Centre to justify their ways. When it suits them, they go by the advisory but when they don’t require it, it’s DMK’s habit to blame the Centre. When our rights are being dismissed, BJP has no other option but to turn this into a people’s protest,” Annamalai said.
He added that the closure of places of worship was an advisory and not an order from the Centre.
Coincidentally, Stalin’s wife Durga on Thursday prayed at Trichy’s famous Srirangam temple. Reacting to the protests, Babu said that though temples were closed from Friday to Sunday, required poojas were being conducted during the weekend. “Once coronavirus abates, the chief minister will re-open temples,” he said. “Those who are protesting are doing so blindly when they should also understand the importance of saving lives during this time.”
