Devotees 'erase' Tamil Nadu temple lotus motif on hearing it was poll violation
CHENNAI: The lotus motif drawn by devotees on the walls of Tamil Nadu's Srivilliputhur Andal temple was masked by themselves and not temple authorities, said a temple official on Saturday.
"The devotees draw kolams and the temple administration does not say anything about it. It is important for the temple to allow devotees to practise their faith their own way," the senior temple official told IANS.
The Bharatiya Janata Party has raised objection to the masking of the kolam featuring lotus flower -- its election symbol.
"If the Election Commission wanted to ban such kolams/rangoli then they should have sent an official communication to the temple administration," the temple official said.
According to him, the devotees residing near the temple drew the kolams featuring lotus flower and they themselves masked them after someone told them that the motifs might contravene the Model Code of Conduct for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
"Inside a temple there are many things that may have different political connotations. It is not possible to ban everything. For instance, Goddess Saraswathi is seated on a lotus flower. Is it possible to mask the lotus flower of the deity," he added.
The temple in Srivilliputhur of Virudhunagar district, about 550 km from here, is one the 108 Divya Desams for the Vaishnavites. The temple's tower is the Tamil Nadu government's emblem.