Chennai

“The campaign for Vel Yatra by the BJP should be put on hold considering public safety and the spread of virus and the party should not politicise this issue as this is a matter of public lives,” he told reporters here. Pointing out that it was the responsibility of the State government to control the virus spread and minimise risk among the public, Jayakumar said that the pandemic situation in the State was still not conducive for large gatherings. The saffron party had proposed to commence the month-long religious roadshow to celebrate Tamil deity Murugan in its attempt to consolidate Hindu votes ahead of the upcoming May 2021 Assembly polls. BJP leader KT Raghavan said that the denial of permission was a disappointment as the objective was to fight against those who spread obscenity and hate against Hindu sentiments and Tamil god Murugan.