Meenakshi Amman Temple trustees raise questions over distribution of passes

MADURAI: Uncertainty over the number and distribution of passes for the Meenakshi Amman Temple Kumbabishekam has raised concerns among the temple’s Board of Trustees, with its chairperson Rukmani Palanivelrajan saying they had not been informed whether invitations had reached donors and sponsors.

With only two days left for the Kumbabishekam, Rukmani Palanivelrajan, chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple and mother of former Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, told reporters that arrangements for the event were being made without consulting or involving the trustees.

“Beyond the arrangements for the safety of devotees and infrastructure facilities for the Kumbabishekam, it remains a question whether proper guidelines have been issued in a manner that everyone can know and follow,” Rukmani said.

On the issue of passes, she said different figures, such as 9,000 and 11,000, were being reported every day. “We have not been informed whether the invitation has reached the highly respected donors and sponsors,” she said.

She further said that the Board of Trustees had prepared a list of people who should not be left out of the event, but the temple administration had not considered it.

“We had hoped that the festival would be conducted peacefully without any differences. However, the temple administration is taking unilateral decisions without consulting us,” she alleged.

Rukmani further said that her family had a long association with the temple and had never mixed politics with spirituality. “Our family, which traces its lineage to the family of the late P.T. Rajan, who headed the temple’s Kumbabishekam in 1963 and presented a diamond crown to Meenakshi Amman, has never mixed politics and spirituality,” she said.

“We are always conscious that politics should not interfere in spiritual works and ensure that temple renovation and other spiritual activities are carried out in the best possible manner,” she said.