Ram Mandir 'Pran Pratishtha': The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Tamil Nadu government not to reject requests for live streaming of Lord Ram Lalla's 'pran pratishtha' (consecration) ceremony in the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta, while hearing a plea seeking quashing of an "oral order" dated January 20 banning live telecast of the consecration ceremony at Ayodhya in temples across Tamil Nadu, said no one is bound to abide with the oral orders.
What did Supreme Court say?
The apex court issued notice to the Tamil Nadu government and others on a plea filed against State’s oral order by which it has allegedly banned live telecast of the "Pran Prathishta" of Lord Ram at Ayodhya in the temples across Tamil Nadu.
"There are no such restrictions and there is no ban on live telecast, performance of poojas, archanas, annadhanasm, bhajans on the occasion of “Pran Prathishta” of Lord Ram at Ayodhya today and the plea is just politically motivated," the Tamil Nadu govt told the court.
However, the Supreme Court told the Tamil Nadu government that permission "can't be rejected on the sole ground that other communities are living in the locality." The court said that "this is a homogenous society, do not prevent only on this ground (that there are other communities)."
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) moved the Supreme Court as an urgent matter for hearing against the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government's alleged order banning the live telecast of Lord Ram Lalla's 'pran pratishtha' (consecration) ceremony in the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya on Monday, at temples and other public places.
The petition was submitted by Advocate G Balaji on behalf of Vinoj P Selvam, who serves as the secretary of the Tamil Nadu BJP.
Here's what plea states
"It is respectfully submitted that State Government run by 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 mentioned.
"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 further stated.
The BJP leader urged immediate judicial intervention in the matter while pointing to a law and problem that may arise. "Unless there is immediate judicial intervention by this court there will be law and order problem and failure of constitutional machinery," the petitioner stated.
"It is therefore most respectfully prayed that the writ petition be listed for hearing tonight itself before the chief justice court or any other court in the interest of justice," the petition further said.
Earlier on Sunday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleged that the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government is instructing the State Police to not grant permission for the live broadcast of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ayodhya's Ram temple on January 22.
Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha
The much-awaited consecration event at Ram temple will be held in Ayodhya today in a grand ceremony with Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the rituals. The ceremony will be officiated by a complement of priests chosen from across the country. A team of priests is to be led by Lakshami Kant Dixit.
The shrine will be opened to the public a day later. The "Pran Pratishtha" ceremony will begin at 12.20 pm and is expected to end by 1 pm. The prime minister will then address a gathering of more than 7,000 people, including seers and prominent personalities, at the venue.
The ritual for the consecration ceremony of Ram Mandir began on January 16, starting from the Saryu River and will conclude today with the inauguration of the temple during Abhijit Muhurat. The new idol of Ram Lalla, in its 5-year-old form, arrived in the temple complex on January 17.
Ayodhya was abuzz with the cackle of locals and the excitement and anticipation was palpable ahead of the 'Pran Pratishtha' and the grand opening of the temple on Monday.
(With ANI inputs)
