Chennai, Jan 21 (UNI) Tamil Nadu HR and CE Minister P.K.Sekar Babu on Sunday refuted Union Finance Minister NIrmala Sitharaman’s charge and said there is no ban for devotees to organise Annadhanam (free meals) and poojas in the name of Lord Ram in the temples in the state to mark the consecration of Ram Temple at Ayodhya tomorrow.
The HR&CE Department “hasn’t imposed any limitations on devotees’ freedom to offer food, conduct poojas in the name of Shri Ram, or provide prasadams in Tamil Nadu temples” on the occasion of Ram temple consecration on Mondya, he said, in a statement posted on his X handle.
He was reacting to Ms NIrmala’s allegation in her social media that the Tamil Nadu Government has banned watching live telecast of the consecration ceremony.
She also alleged that in temples managed by the HR&CE Ministry, “no puja, bhajan, prasadam, annadanam in the name of Shri Ram is allowed. Police are stopping privately held temples also from organising events.”
“TN govt has banned watching live telecast of AyodhaRamMandir programmes of 22 Jan 24.
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”, she further said.
Strongly refuting the charges, Mr.Sekar Babu said it is unfortunate that people in office, like Union Finance Minister Ms.Nirmala Sitharaman and others, are deliberately spreading such false information.
He said he was saddened to see Ms Nirmala, holding a top position in the government, is indulging in spreading completely untruth and false information, with a hidden agenda.
Stating that such misinformation campaign was being carried to divert the attention from the ongoing ruling DMK’s Youth Wing Conference at Salem, Mr Sekar Babu said it was a planned misinformation campaign.
“The department has not issued a ban to the devotees to conduct poojas, offer annadhanam or distribute prasadham in the name of Ram in the HR and CE administered temples in the state”, he said.
