No ban on prayers, live screenings of Ram temple ceremony: TN to SC

New Delhi: Tamil Nadu government told the Supreme Court that there is no ban on holding live screenings of the Ram temple consecration ceremony in Ayodhya or conducting special poojas or bhajans on the occasion.

The state government’s response comes in the wake of the Supreme Court directive instructing the government to not summarily reject requests for live streaming of consecration ceremony, as a PIL claimed the state has banned live streaming requests.

The court said that the permission can't be rejected on the sole ground that other communities are living in the locality. The apex court has also asked that the state to maintain a record of the applications received and the corresponding decisions taken.

The decision of the apex court comes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday 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 'pran-pratishtha' ceremony in the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya, especially at temples and other public places.

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The petition was filed by Advocate G Balaji on behalf of BJP's state unit secretary Vinoj P Selvam.

"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 said.

"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.

On Sunday, union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman claimed that several reports suggested that the MK Stalin-led state government has banned the live streaming of the pran-pratishtha ceremony of Lord Ram Lalla.

Saying that there are over 200 temples dedicated to Lord Ram in the state, Sitharaman said the police are stopping privately held temples also from organising events.

“Tamil Nadu government has banned watching live telecast of Ayodha Ram Mandir programmes of January 22. In Tamil Nadu there are over 200 temples for Shri Ram. In HR and CE managed temples no puja, bhajan, prasadam or 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," the finance minister wrote on X.

The minister’s claims were however, denied by the state as ‘false news with ulterior motives’.

"Strongly condemn the spreading of false information in an attempt to divert people's attention from the DMK Youth Conference in Salem…It is unfortunate that people in office, like Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and others, are purposefully propagating this erroneous information," he said in a social media post.

“The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department hasn't imposed any limitations on devotees' freedom to offer food, conduct poojas in the name of Shri Ram, or provide prasad in Tamil Nadu temples," the state minister added.

The 'Pran Pratishtha' ceremony at Ayodhya Temple was held at 12:30 pm today, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurating the ceremony. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, saints, and a host of distinguished guests attended the event.

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