Chennai, Nov 14 The TVK government’s approach to the Thirupparankundram issue, which is now before the Supreme Court, is similar to the stand adopted by the previous DMK regime, giving primacy to the “minority vote bank,” the Tamil Nadu BJP alleged on Saturday.
Referring to the matter before the apex court, BJP senior leader Narayanan Thirupathy said the Madras High Court’s Division Bench (Madurai Bench) had upheld, in January this year, Justice G R Swaminathan’s ruling directing that the Karthigai Deepam lamp be lit at a stone pillar atop the Thirupparankundram hill.
On June 11, 2026, the Tamil Nadu government filed a Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court. Though the apex court issued notice, it did not stay the High Court order, the BJP spokesperson said.
In its submissions before the apex court, the Tamil Nadu government has again relied on a 1996 High Court judgment to oppose lighting the lamp at the stone pillar, arguing that it was not a traditional spot for lighting the lamp, he said.
The Tamil Nadu government has also opposed allowing the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to perform functions beyond the bare minimum, such as protecting inscriptions.
“This approach of the TVK government is similar to the stand adopted by the previous DMK regime. When a government gives priority solely to the minority vote bank, it obstructs religious practices followed by Hindus for a long time on land belonging to the temple,” Narayanan Thirupathy said in a statement.
Further, he said, “There is nothing wrong in protecting the rights of minorities. However, it is wrong to do so by continuously hurting the religious sentiments of the majority or preventing devotees from practising their religion on temple-owned land.”
The TVK-led Tamil Nadu government’s submission on the issue before the Supreme Court amounts to taking away the rights of Hindus recognised by the Madras High Court in its judgments, he alleged.
Hence, the TVK government must allow the temple management to light the lamp at the stone pillar in Thirupparankundram, in compliance with ASI guidelines and the Madras High Court’s directions, he urged.
In the apex court, the HR&CE Commissioner maintained that the festival lamp had traditionally been lit at the Deepa Mandapam near the Uchipillaiyar temple and not at the hilltop or the stone pillar now being described as the Deepathoon.
The affidavit said this practice had continued for more than 150 years in accordance with the Agamas and the opinion of the temple’s Sthanikars (traditional temple functionaries).
It referred to historical records of attempts made in 1862 and 1912 to light lamps near the summit of the hillock where the dargah is situated.
According to the affidavit, those attempts were resisted on the grounds that lighting a lamp at that location was not an established custom and could lead to a breach of peace.
The Tamil Nadu government strongly opposed a petition seeking to bring the Arulmigu Subramaniaswamy temple and Thirupparankundram hill under ASI control and also seeking changes to the traditional Karthigai Deepam celebrations.
(PTI News)
