Chennai: Tamil Nadu BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran on Thursday strongly criticised the Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay-led government over a proposed Christian prayer meeting at Lingamalai in Pudukkottai district, accusing the administration of interfering with Hindu religious practices and failing to protect the community's religious rights.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

In a statement, Nagenthran alleged that arrangements were being made to organise a Christian prayer gathering near a 400-year-old Shiva temple at Lingamalai, close to Malampatti, despite restrictions on such activities. He claimed the proposed gathering was scheduled for November 24, coinciding with the Maha Karthigai festival, near a cross allegedly erected without authorisation.

Source: NationPress

The BJP state president said Lingamalai was historically significant, containing Chola-era inscriptions, sculptures and a Nandi statue besides the ancient Shiva temple. He also condemned an alleged attack on a Hindu devotee, Marimuthu, who reportedly opposed the proposed prayer meeting. The alleged attack has not been independently established in the reports.

Referring to the controversy surrounding the lighting of the Karthigai Deepam at Thiruparankundram hill in Madurai, Nagenthran alleged that the government was restricting established religious practices, and urged Chief Minister Vijay to demonstrate through concrete action that his administration represented people of all religious communities.

Senior BJP leader H. Raja separately accused the government of undermining Hindu customs and religious traditions. He questioned alleged restrictions on the traditional practice of admitting children to schools on Vijayadashami, referred to Madurai Central MLA Mustafa's visit to the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai, and questioned the government's secular credentials.

The Lingamalai site has been disputed before: in October, the Hindu Munnani had submitted a complaint to the Pudukkottai district Superintendent of Police over maintenance work on the cross at the hill, saying a peace meeting led by the Kulathur tahsildar had concluded the cross was unauthorised and that neither side should carry out work at the site without permission from the revenue and police departments, according to a Dinamalar report carried at the time. Those claims were made in the organisation's petition and were not independently established.

Both BJP leaders demanded that the government refrain from interfering in Hindu religious affairs and ensure equal protection for all communities. An official response from the Tamil Nadu government was not immediately available.