Tamil Nadu

Vinayaka Chaturthi amidst political tension in TN: What's allowed and what's not

Written by : Bharathi SP

The Madras High Court on Friday allowed individual people to install idols in their homes and immerse them in water bodies. 

However, the High Court also said that only individuals are allowed to do so while organizations are not permitted to carry out installation, immersion or procession. On Saturday, the High Court also permitted Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department (HR&CE) to immerse Vinayaka idols in water bodies as part of the Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations in the state.

Do's and Dont's of Vinayaka Chaturthi this year

The bench of judges, Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Hemalatha allowed individuals to install Vinayakar idols in their homes and also said that the festival will not be complete without immersion of the Vinayakar idols. The bench however told the public not to immerse idols in the Marina beach.

On Saturday, the High Court clarified and recorded the Advocate General's submission that the HR&CE will take care and immerse the idols kept by individuals outside the temples.

The court has said that the public should place the idols at temples or immerse them in a water body near their house or keep the idols at home.

Speaking to TNM, Chennai Commissioner of Police Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal quoting the High Court order said, "The High Court has said that the people can conduct ceremonies in front of their homes and dissolve the idol in a water body. The idol should be of such a size that one person can carry it to the water body and there shouldn’t be a necessity for many people to carry. High Court has also permitted immersion in places expect the beach from Napier Bridge to Santhome. If there are unable to do so they can keep the idol at the nearest temple. In that case, HR&CE department will make the arrangements.”

On the practices that can lead to legal action, Chennai Commissioner of Police Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal said, “Organizations are not allowed to carry out any processions.”

In case there is a crowd of people, the police will take action said the Commissioner. “We will take legal action, we will persuade them not to take out procession and violate the law, and we will register a case. We have police squads monitoring physical distancing of people and other coronavirus norms in place.”

The power politics

In Tamil Nadu, many right wing groups, parties and other organisations too install large size idols in public places a few days ahead itself as a form of celebration. The celebrations in Chennai most times continue for seven days while the celebrations last for five days in Coimbatore.
 
On the last day, all the vinayaka idols will be taken in a procession and immersed in the nearby water body.
 
The Tamil Nadu government in a press release on August 13 told the public to celebrate Vinayaka Chaturthi at home due to the pandemic. The state also banned installation, procession and immersion of idols at public places.
 
The government's decision created a tussle between the ruling AIADMK and its alliance partner BJP. BJP state president L Murugan, Hindu Makkal Munnani State president K Subramaniyan and two right wing leaders urged Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami to withdraw the ban. They also met him and assured that the public will maintain physical distancing norms while celebrating the festival. However, the Chief Minister continued to be firm on his decision.
 
The Hindu Munnani known for conducting Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations continues to be angry with the ruling government.
 
A Hindu Munnani functionary alleged, “We are angry with the government.  The Tamil Nadu government banned this to appease the Muslim population since they did not allow the Muslims to celebrate Bakrid. The High Court also did not favour us. The last minute decision is confusing the people.”
 
“Our party members have individually placed 1.5 lakh idols across the state for people to worship. We are not doing this to show our power but we are doing this for the spiritual gains of the people'" he said.

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