Ram Rajya Rath Yatra enters Tamil Nadu, protests erupt
TIRUNELVELI/CHENNAI: A VHP-backed yatra aimed at mobilising support for a Ram temple in Ayodhya entered Tamil Nadu on Tuesday amidst opposition by DMK, pro-Tamil, and some Muslim outfits, which claimed it would disturb communal amity.
Showering petals, hundreds of devotees and cadres of Hindu outfits welcomed the Ram Rajya Rath Yatra as it entered Shencottah in Tirunelveli District from neighbouring Kerala.
A few activists, including those from Manithaneya Makkal Katchi (MMK), threatened to block the yatra, which left Ayodhya on February 13 and traversed through six states.
Police said they arrested over 300 people, including Thirumavalavan of VCK and Jawahirullah of MMK, for violating ban orders and proceeding to block the yatra. Chief minister K Palaniswami defended the AIADMK government’s decision to allow the yatra, saying all religions have equal rights and accused the opposition of trying to give political colour.
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan criticised the permission granted to the yatra, saying it was taken up with “a divisive political agenda”. Superstar Rajinikanth, set to enter politics said communal tension should be prevented.
DMK raised the issue in the state assembly and stalled proceedings before its members, led by Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin, were evicted en masse as they protested even after the CM’s reply. Stalin then sat on a protest along with party MLAs near the assembly but police removed and briefly detained them in a marriage hall before releasing all of them.
“The yatra has entered Tamil Nadu today.. .permission has been given for yatra organisers who have planned to instigate communal riots,” Stalin alleged.
When the Supreme Court was seized of the Ram temple case, organising a yatra to construct the shrine “is contempt of the top court,” he alleged, seeking to know if the state government was run by “AIADMK or BJP”.
Defending permission for the yatra, Palaniswami told the assembly, “As regards Tamil Nadu, all religions have equal rights. Nobody can ban it. This is a democratic country and no religion can be differentiated.”
After covering districts including Tuticorin, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari and entering Rameswaram on March 22, the yatra, being organised by Shri Ramdasa Mission Universal Society, will reach Tiruvananthapuram a day later, he said.