NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Tuesday welcomed the Madras High Court order on lighting of lamp on the ‘deepathoon’ atop the Thiruparankundram hill in Madurai and mounted a sharp attack on the DMK and INDIA bloc, claiming they had been exposed as anti-Hindu.
Addressing reporters at the BJP headquarters, Goyal termed the order a “slap on the face of the appeasement policy” of the INDIA bloc and a “victory of the Hindu religion”. Goyal, who is BJP’s election in-charge for the TN Assembly polls, said the court had recognised the ritual as an ancient practice and rejected the DMK-led state government’s argument that it posed law and order concerns.
“There was no problem in the past in this religious tradition but the DMK wanted to stop this citing law and order issues just because of its appeasement politics solely aimed at one community,” Goyal alleged.
“The two judges have given a conclusive direction that this is an age-old practice. This is a matter of the Hindu religion and sentiments of the local people. The practice has been going on for centuries,” he said.
State's decision politically motivated: TN BJP President
State BJP president Nainar Nagenthran said the government’s decision to appeal is politically motivated.
In a social media post, he asked how many more “slaps from the courts” the DMK would need before giving up what he described as its anti-Hindu approach, adding that the people of Tamil Nadu will “kick the government out” in the upcoming polls.
Speaking to reporters in Tirunelveli, Nagenthran alleged that the DMK government was attempting to create communal tension by citing the possibility of violence.
Referring to HR&CE Minister P K Sekar Babu’s remarks that lighting the deepam could trigger communal unrest, he said such statements themselves indicated an effort to provoke a situation by politicising an issue linked to public sentiment.
“The division bench has clearly stated that governments should not politicise such matters or hurt people’s sentiments. The DMK should take note of this,” he said.
The BJP also condemned minister Regupathy’s remarks comparing the lighting of lamps on the hill to cremation practices. Several BJP leaders, including K Annamalai, also criticised Regupathy’s comments, terming them insensitive.
‘INDIA bloc leaders intimidating judiciary’
This order has clearly lifted the veil off the DMK government, Chief Minister M K Stalin, his son and Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin, Congress and all the INDI alliance members,” he claimed.
Crticising the INDIA bloc members for moving an impeachment motion against Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, who had given the direction to light the lamp at the deepathoon, he said, “Those claiming to uphold constitutional values are in fact intimidating the judiciary, using threats like impeachment motions against judges whose verdicts do not suit them.”
He claimed that the “anti-Hindu” mindset of the DMK and INDIA bloc stood fully exposed, and the people of India would deliver a decisive and fitting response to these forces.
Goyal also targeted Congress leaders for supporting the impeachment motion, which he said was initiated by the DMK and signed by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, Samajwadi Party’s Dharmendra Yadav, NCP’s Supriya Sule and Shiv Sena’s (UBT) Arvind Sawant, among others. He accused them of attempting to intimidate the judiciary, charging that, “The leaders from Congress and others of INDI alliance are intimidating the judiciary and levelling false charges against the honourable judge.
