Tamil Nadu minister S Regupathy on Tuesday stoked a row while criticisng the Madras high court’s Thiruparankundram verdict, which he said tantamounts to altering traditional customs.
Calling the verdict “legally incorrect”, he said the Tamil Nadu government will appeal against the high court’s ruling on Tuesday upholding a single bench order allowing the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam lamp.
“A dead body can be cremated only in a crematorium. Can it be cremated elsewhere? Do not change the existing customs and practices, Reghupathy told reporters. “Why attempt to create confusion in Tamil Nadu by delivering such a judgment?”
Meanwhile, Union minister Piyush Goyal accused the DMK government in Tamil Nadu of fostering “anti-Hindu” sentiment by opposing the high court’s decision to allow Hindu devotees to offer prayers at the Thirupparankundram.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, Goyal said, “The Tamil Nadu high court’s division bench order has given justice to the devotees to this old and ancient temple where lord Murugan resides and for Centuries lamps have been lit for Lord Kartikeya.”
The minister alleged that the ruling dispensation in the state opted to follow the policy of appeasement and chose to go against the order of the court.
Goyal said, “Justice Swaminathan permitted to carry out the practice of lighting the lamp. It is extremely unfortunate that the state went in appeal against the judge’s order, reflecting an anti Hindu mindset”.
BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathy hit back at Regupathy’s comments. “Chief minister MK Stalin should immediately remove him from the cabinet,” Thirupathy said.
“The petitioner’s actions are not guided by devotion but by naked political ambitions,” said DMK’s advocate and spokesperson A Saravanan. The BJP said that it is a curse that Tamil Nadu has such ministers.
“Today our state president has requested each and every one to celebrate the verdict. To celebrate it, he asked us to light the lamp in our houses. You can see the police today. To light the lamp in my house, three police vans have come,” said former governor of Telangana and Puducherry, Tamilisai Soundarajan.
“So, if we light the lamp itself, so many policemen want to surround us. That itself shows how they are fearing the BJP. We have celebrated the basic right of the Hindus that has been respected, and we thank the court for respecting the sentiments of the Hindus.”
(With inputs from Smriti Kak in Delhi)