BJP moves SC against Tamil Nadu on banning 'pran pratishtha' telecast

The BJP's plea stated that the banning of live telecast of 'pran pratishtha' ceremony violates fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday moved the Supreme Court (SC) as an urgent matter for hearing against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Tamil Nadu government's alleged order banning the live telecast of Lord Ram Lalla's "pran-pratishtha" at temples and other public places, reported news agency PTI.

Advocate G Balaji filed the petition on behalf of the BJP's state unit secretary, Vinoj P Selvam.

"It is respectfully submitted that the state government run by the 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 stated, according to the news agency.

"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 added.

Also Read: Pran pratishtha at Ram mandir: When and where to watch live telecast

A day earlier, on Sunday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman lashed out at the Tamil Nadu government over reports of its decision to ban live streaming of the "pran pratishtha" ceremony at the new Ram temple on January 22. 

Sharing a newspaper report that claimed oral instructions from the government barring special pujas and serving free food in the name of Ram in temples, Sitharaman called it an "anti-Hindu" action.

"TN government has banned watching the live telecast of Ayodhya Ram mandir programmes of January 22, 2024. In TN there are over 200 temples for Shri Ram. In HR&CE-managed temples, no puja/bhajan/prasadam/annadanam in the name of Shri Ram is allowed. Police are stopping privately held temples also from organising events. They are threatening organisers that they will rip off pandals. Strongly condemn this anti-Hindu, hateful action," Sitharaman wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

The minister further alleged that "people are threatened for organising bhajans, feeding the poor, celebrating the occasion with sweets" in the state.

"Cable TV operators are told that there is a likely power down during the live telecast. This is INDI Alliance partner DMK's anti-Hindu efforts," she added.