SC notice to Tamil Nadu over Ram Mandir telecast 'ban'
The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Tamil Nadu government and others. This came in response to a plea filed against the state's alleged verbal order banning the live telecast of the Ram Mandir Pran Prathishta event across Tamil Nadu. The issue was flagged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday. The state government has denied any such restrictions, calling the plea "politically motivated".
SC's response to Tamil Nadu government
The plea filed by Vinoj P Selvam, through Senior Advocate P Valliappan and Advocate on Record G Balaji, has sought the SC intervention in the matter. The Supreme Court said that it trusts authorities will act by law and not based on any oral instructions. The court has asked the state to record reasons for allowing or rejecting such a request and has also asked authorities to keep data about the applications.
This is homogenous society, don't prevent religious events: SC
The two-judge bench of SC also said: "Permission can't be rejected on the sole ground that other communities are living in the locality." "This is a homogenous society, do not prevent only on this ground (that there are other communities)," it said. Filed on Saturday, the plea, alleged that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin "issued oral orders/directions to the Police Department not to permit any kind of poojas... live telecast of Pran Prathishta" in the temples in the state.
Sitharaman's allegations against Tamil Nadu government
Meanwhile, Sitharaman also accused the Tamil Nadu government of banning religious events. In a post on X, she wrote, "Tamil Nadu government has banned watching the live telecast of Ayodhya Ram Mandir programs of January 22." Citing a newspaper report, she also claimed that police were stopping temples from organizing events and threatening organizers. Sitharaman alleged that individuals were being threatened against organizing bhajans, feeding the poor, and watching Prime Minister Narendra Modi participate in Ayodhya events.
Tamil Nadu BJP accused DMK government of hindering prayers
Earlier on Sunday, Tamil Nadu's BJP chief K Annamalai accused the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government of hindering plans for devotees to organize special pujas in state temples. The BJP has been labeling the DMK as "anti-Hindu," a claim the Dravidian party firmly denies. State minister and DMK youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin explained that their opposition to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya was solely based on its construction following the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
Tamil Nadu calls Sitharaman's allegations fake
In response to BJP allegations, Tamil Nadu's Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, PK Sekarbabu, labeled them as "blatantly false and fake." He clarified that the department had not banned devotees from organizing special pujas, annadanam, or distributing prasadam in Lord Ram's name. Sekarbabu suggested that these rumors were spread to "divert people's attention" away from the DMK's youth wing conference, which is taking place in Salem.
