Tamil Nadu: BJP moves SC against state govt's 'order' prohibiting live telecast of 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 22 : BJP has moved the Supreme Court as an urgent matter for hearing against the alleged 'order' by the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government prohibiting the live telecast of Ram Lalla's 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony in Ayodhya on Monday at temples and other public places.
The petition has been filed by Advocate G Balaji representing Vinoj P Selvam, secretary of Tamil Nadu BJP.
"It is respectfully submitted that State Government run by DMK political party has banned live telecast of the auspicious occasion of 'Pran Pratishtha' of Lord Ram at Ayodhya in all the temples across the state of Tamil Nadu," the plea mentioned.
"The government has also banned all kinds of poojas, Archana and Annadanam (poor feeding) bhajans on this auspicious occasion. Such arbitrary exercise of power by the State Government (through police officials) per se violates fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution," it further stated.
He urged immediate judicial intervention in the matter while pointing to a law and problem that may arise.
"Unless there is immediate judicial intervention by this court there will be law and order problem and failure of constitutional machinery," the petitioner stated.
"It is therefore most respectfully prayed that the writ petition be listed for hearing tonight itself before the chief justice court or any other court in the interest of justice," the petition further said.
Earlier on Sunday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government is instructing the State Police to not grant permission for the live broadcast of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram temple on January 22.
Addressing reporters in Chengalpattu, Nirmala Sitharaman said, "The Tamil Nadu government is threatening the police to not grant permission for the live broadcast of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony. The Assistant Commissioner of Police is threatening to not broadcast even the program I attended in Kanchipuram."
"They said that the Ram temple ceremony should not be telecast in public places. They say that it should not be held in the temple either. They are saying that there will be a law and order problem, and beyond that, they are asking us to give the letter that we have not refused permission," she added.
However, the state government has refuted the Union Minister's claims and condemned the spreading of false information.
PK Sekar Babu, Tamil Nadu Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments said that the allegations made by Sitharaman related to holding programmes in the name of Lord Ram are completely untrue.
"Strongly condemn the spreading of false information in an attempt to divert people's attention from the DMK Youth Conference in Salem. The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department hasn't imposed any limitations on devotees' freedom to offer food, conduct poojas in the name of Shri Ram, or provide prasad in Tamil Nadu temples," Babu posted on X.
"It is unfortunate that people in office, like Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others, are purposefully propagating this erroneous information," he added.
While, Nirmala Sitharaman hit back at the remarks made by the Tamil Nadu minister and said, "Minister Sekar Babu should read the comments under his social media post. Why did he not openly announce earlier that there is no ban on telecasting the Pran pratishtha ceremony of Ram temple and there is no ban on conducting special prayers?"
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai shared an image on X and claimed that instructions in the image have been passed by the ADGP (Law and order) to obstruct the celebration of the Pran Pratishtha across the state.
"DMK government has ministers who are inefficient, corrupt and a bunch of liars. Below are screenshots of instructions passed on by ADGP L&O to his SPs instructing them to obstruct the celebration of the Pran Pratishtha across TN," Annamalai posted on X.
"TN has become a draconian state under the DMK government, and MK Stalim's actions are synonymous with the actions of the Tyrant Joseph Stalin. I challenge the TN government to disapprove of the below screenshots and to file an FIR against me. I will submit the entire sequence of conversations to the court," he added.
The 'Pran Pratishtha' of Shri Ram Lalla at Ayodhya Temple will be held at 12:30 pm on Sunday.
The historic ritual will be graced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, saints, and a host of distinguished guests.
Vedic rituals for the Pran-Pratishtha ceremony of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya began on January 16, a week before the main ceremony.