Equal rights for all faiths in TN: CM

Palaniswami’s reply came during the debate on budget after Leader of Opposition MK Stalin moved the ‘special calling attention’ motion seeking to ban the Ram Rajya Rath Yatra in the land of Periyar. 

In his reply, the Chief Minister accused Stalin of adding political colour to the Yatra, which was organised by Maharashtra-based Shri Ramdas Mission Universal Society. “The Yatra has already travelled through Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala peacefully and it reached Tirunelveli on Tuesday,” he said, and accused Stalin of trying to gain political mileage. 

“Fearing communal tension, some Muslim, pro-Tamil outfits and political parties have already opposed this and submitted petitions to the police asking them not to allow the Yatra’s entry into the 

state. However, enough precautionary measures have been taken to maintain the law and order during the pilgrimage,” Palaniswami noted. He added that the police had already detained 121 people as preventive measure from Tirunelveli, Kanchipuram, Nagapattinam, Madurai, Virudhunagar and Kanniyakumari. 

Earlier, entire speeches made by Stalin were expunged by Assembly speaker, P Dhanapal, as DMK MLAs raised a ruckus in the Assembly over the Rath Yatra issue.