COIMBATORE: Tension prevailed at Periyanaickenpalayam for a while on Sunday morning when members of right wing outfits tried to block the Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami's route to protest construction of a mosque near a temple in the village.
Police removed them using force and cleared the route. According to sources, a temple and mosque were razed near the Press Colony in November last to facilitate widening of the Mettupalayam road. Muslims were allotted to build a temporary structure in Om Sakthi Nagar.
A few Hindu outfits objected to this saying the structure was being built near a temple. Officials convened meetings with representatives of both faiths and suggested that the mosque be built at some other place. Also, permission was given till January 21 for the mosque to function temporarily from near the temple. Alleging the mosque functioned even after deadline, the Hindu outfits launched protests two days ago.
On Sunday, they tried to take the issue to the notice of the Chief Minister and tried to block his convoy. Over 250 people, including women, were removed by police. "We wanted to raise the issue with Chief Minister but permission was not granted. So we decided to block his convoy. MLA PRG Arunkumar (Coimbatore North) talked with us over the phone and assured to take action in one or two days," said Jai Karthik, a functionary of Hindu Munnani.