MADURAI: Scores of BJP cadres and Hindu Munnani members staged a protest in front of Tiruparankundram temple in Madurai on Tuesday, defying a prohibitory order imposed by the district administration. The police evicted the protestors from the site as the Madras High Court had permitted the agitation to be staged at Palanganatham.
The prohibitory order was issued after the Hindu Munnani called for a protest demonstration in front of the Tiruparankundram temple.
Several thousands of devotees, Hindu Munnani functionaries, and BJP members raised slogans hailing Lord Murugan, the Hindu Munnani said.
Hindu Munnani state president Kadeshwara Subramaniam and scores of activists were arrested as they proceeded to Tiruparankundram to protest against a group of people who allegedly consumed non-vegetarian food on the sacred hill.
The high court had permitted the agitation to be staged between 5 and 6 pm at Palanganatham.
BJP senior leader H Raja said the Madurai bench of the high court granted permission for the Hindu Munnani's protest. The court also directed the police to release all Hindu Munnani and BJP members either detained or kept under house arrest.
While devotees were allowed to offer prayers in the temple, no one was allowed up the hill. All shops and other commercial premises had downed their shutters and ‘ratha veethis’ leading to the temple wore a deserted look.
It was a disappointment for R Maheswari, who had come all the way from Ondipudur, Coimbatore, to collect theertham (holy water) from Machamuni Siddhar Samadhi located atop the hill. As the prohibitory order is in effect until Wednesday night, she could not get access to the hill.
Earlier in the day, the scenic Tiruparankundram hill town, where the abode of Lord Subrahmanya graces devotees, had turned into a police citadel with over 4,000 police and officers from 10 districts taking control following the prohibitory orders clamped by the district administration.
About eight activists from the Hindu Munnani, which had announced an agitation, have been detained by the police.
BJP state chief K Annamalai accused the ruling DMK of imposing the prohibitory order to prevent the protest.