The Vijay government has made its position known: no lamp will be lit on the Thiruparankundram hilltop this year, notwithstanding the Madras High Court’s say-so. They are sticking with the spot they have used for the past two years, and see it as a way to have peace rather than trouble.
Government cites harmony, rejects hilltop lighting
The state is not going to get involved in the row and wants to keep things quiet in Thiruparankundram. As for the lamp, officials are for continuity, not a showdown. It will be at the same place as before, not up on the hill.
“We have made it clear more than once,” a statement from the government put it, with an eye on what the locals want. “Two years ago, where we lit the lamp, that is where the Deepam will be lit.”
Court orders and the legal backdrop
Things got pointed after the Madras High Court let stand an order for the hilltop lighting. The Madurai Bench asked for the new government’s take on it on Friday.
There was also an extension of an interim stay on a number of orders by Justice GR Swaminathan in contempt petitions. These were over claims that his earlier directive to light the deepathoon on the hill had been ignored.
Administration pushes back on politicisation
R Nirmalkumar, the state’s minister for Energy Resources and Law, doesn’t think the festival should be made into a political issue. “We will not let 100 per cent anyone or any religious force come in and make politics of it,” he said.
Nirmalkumar was firm on the state’s line: we will do as we have been doing. The lamp will go up via the path already in use on the Thiruparankundram hill, he added, for good measure.
Opposition reaction intensifies
The BJP has latched onto the decision, saying the government is treating a matter of rights as if it were a danger to the peace. Tamilisai Soundararajan, the former Telangana governor and a senior in the party, had some questions about why you would hold to the way of two years ago.
She put it like this: by that logic, one could ask why this government is in power and if there is any need for change. And she felt the minister’s words showed a lack of respect for the High Court and the case at hand.
Soundararajan also took issue with what she saw as a put-down of the media. She said some ministers are too casual with matters of emotion and aren’t dealing with what is in their own bailiwick.
Key claims from both sides
What you are hearing from each side in public:
– Government: we are keeping to the last two years’ practice
– Government: no room for political or religious play
– Government: peace in Thiruparankundram is the goal
– Opposition: the High Court’s word should be heeded
– Opposition: the majority in the area should be heard
– Opposition: focus on the power cuts and such
Why it matters and what is at stake
Thiruparankundram is seen as a place of coexistence and the festival is a touchy subject. You have the court’s direction for the hilltop, the government’s call for order, and the opposition making a stand for what they see as customary rights.
It is still with the Madurai Bench, which has put a stay in place while it gets the government’s side. For those who live there, it is about knowing where the venue is. For the parties, it is the latest way to show where they stand.
