Nirmala Sitharaman: DMK govt threatening cops to not grant permission for Ayodhya Ram Mandir consecration broadcast

Nirmala Sitharaman. File pic

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday 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.

Earlier today, 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. It is unfortunate that people in office, like Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others, are purposefully propagating this erroneous information," Babu posted on X.

Replying to the remarks made by the Tamil Nadu minister, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman 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?"

The idol of Ram Lalla was placed in the 'Garbha Griha' of Ayodhya's Ram Temple on Friday amid joyous chants of 'Jai Shri Ram.'

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also visited Varadharaja Perumal Temple in Kanchipuram and offered prayers. The temple, also known as Hastagiri and Attiyuran, is a temple dedicated to Lord Vishnu. It is one of the Divya Desams, the 108 temples of Lord Vishnu, that is mentioned in the hymns of the Vaishnava poet saints, the Alvars.

Also, 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 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 the to obstruct the celebration of the Pran Pratishtha across TN. 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," Annamalai posted on X.

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