CHENNAI: If the BJP tries to politicise the issue (of Ayodhya Mandapam) to strengthen its party, it won’t work, Chief Minister MK Stalin said on Tuesday in response to a question in Assembly from Coimbatore MLA Vanathi Srinivasan of the BJP.
Warning the party against indulging in politics about “unnecessary things”, Stalin said the BJP should instead focus on issues causing suffering to the public. The CM’s sharp rebuttal came even as the Madras High Court refused to stay the order of a single judge allowing the Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments department to take over the Ayodhya Mandapam in Chennai.
Srinivasan raised the issue of the HR&CE department’s Monday action in Assembly and charged that the department had not followed any legal procedures in taking over the facility. In response, Stalin requested the BJP members to focus on issues that affect people at large. “They should impress upon the Union government to control the increasing prices of petrol, diesel and gas,” he said. Referring to the State’s dues pending with the Centre, he said, “I have explained this in detail to the Union ministers and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
Cadre of a party created ruckus: Babu
“Hence, you (BJP) should extend support to get them (dues). You should act in a manner favourable to the people of our State,” the CM said. Earlier, replying to Srinivasan’s charges, HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu said the founder of the Samaj, which runs the Ayodhya Mandapam, MV Ramani had complained about irregularities in the Samaj’s functioning and hence, a probe was conducted.
The probe report said the functioning of the Samaj is against Section 6(20) of the TN Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1959. Based on this, the executive officer of the Subramaniyaswamy temple in Teynampet was appointed as a trustee of the Samaj, the minister said.
Stating that after the litigation filed by the Samaj, the department got an injunction, the minister said the Madras HC vacated the stay on March 17 and dismissed the case. Yet, following the court order, when the authorities of the HR&CE department went to execute it at the Samaj, the cadre of a political party (BJP) created a ruckus, he said.
Mandapam mayhem
As per the Court’s order when officials of HR&CE went to take over the Ayodhya Mandapam, BJP cadre and the Samaj protested at the site on Monday