BJP protests defacement of lotus rangoli in TN temple

The BJP on Friday condemned and opposed the alleged effacing of a drawing of lotus in an ancient temple in southern Tamil Nadu by officials, in view of the Model Code of Conduct.

The public had drawn the motif of a lotus at the famed Srivilliputhur Sri Andal temple -about 540 km from here- as part of tradition followed for many centuries, BJP Tamil Nadu chief Tamilisai Soundararajan said.

"The public had drawn lotus in which Goddess Mahalakshmi is seated out of devotion and it was not done for elections," she said.

The Saffron party leader sought to know if the officials would remove the hand of the deity since it was the symbol of the Congress party.

"Will you conceal the rising sun too since it is also a symbol (of the DMK)?" she asked.

The Srivilliputhur temple is in Virudhunagar district, about 80 kms from Madurai. It is one of the most revered 108 (Divya Desam) Vaishnavite temples.

Despite repeated attempts, the temple officials were unavailable for comments.