"Anti-Sanatan Dharma": Anurag Thakur slams DMK over Madurai Karthigai Deepam row

Speaking during Zero Hour in Lok Sabha, Anurag Thakur alleged a lathi-charge by the DMK government against the devotees protesting to light the lamp atop the hill.

He said, "I want to raise a very important issue where one state in India has become a symbol of anti-Sanatan Dharma. Their ministers are making statements against Sanatan Dharma. They opposed when the Prime Minister performed the Pran Pratishtha of Lord Ram in Ayodhya. People were forced to approach the court to reach the temple."

"The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court came down strongly on the Tamil Nadu government, accusing officials of deliberately ignoring its order on lighting the Karthigai Deepam lamp at Madurai's Thiruparankundram temple. Hindus are lathi-charged. Why are Hindus stopped?" he added.

While Justice GR Swaminathan instructed state authorities to ensure that the sacred lamp was lit atop the hill, Tamil Nadu government officials maintained that this violated the longstanding practice of lighting the lamp at the nearby Deepa Mandapam, a ritual observed for several years.

Anurag Thakur termed the DMK government's move as contempt of court and a violation of Article 25 of the Constitution.

"This is not just an attack on religious sentiments but a blatant contempt of court and a grave violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion guaranteed under Article 25 of the Constitution," he said.

Thakur demanded an immediate apology from the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, MK Stalin and called upon the Union Government to take cognisance of the matter.

Meanwhile, over 100 INDIA bloc MPs from the Lok Sabha submitted a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla regarding an impeachment motion against Justice Swaminathan, who ordered Subramaniya Swamy temple authorities to light a traditional lamp at a stone pillar near a dargah, atop a hillock in Tamil Nadu's Madurai.

Justice Swaminathan's move drew criticism from the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government, which accused the judge of being "biased."

Earlier, DMK MP Kanomozhi justified the INDIA bloc's move to impeach Madras High Court Judge, alleging "biased judgements on lines of religion" and "partiality towards certain lawyers."

On Wednesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Opposition parties of "appeasement" politics, criticising their move to impeach Justice GR Swaminathan.

Amit Shah, who made the remarks during the reply to the debate in Lok Sabha on electoral reforms, said that this has never happened in all the years after independence that a judge has faced impeachment for a judgment. "This has never happened in all the years after independence that a judge is facing impeachment for delivering a judgment. They brought the impeachment to appease their vote bank," he said. (ANI)