BJP Vetri Vel Yatra: “Worship is my constitutional right,” said Tamil Nadu BJP chief L Murugan.
Chennai:
One day after the government of Tamil Nadu denied the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) permission to hold a “Vetri Vel Yatra” (March of the Victorious Spear), the party said today that it will continue the event.
Tamil Nadu BJP President L Murugan addressed the Thiruttani Murugan Temple in the Thiruvallur district, adjacent to Chennai, and offered prayers there. The Yatra was scheduled to begin today at the temple according to the BJP plan. Union Minister Kishan Reddy was also reportedly heading to the same temple.
“I have the right to offer prayers in the temple. Worship is my constitutional right,” Murugan had said earlier that day.
Earlier, at the Chennai Thiruvallur border, the police stopped the vehicles of BJP workers, allowing only Mr. Murugan and a few others to pass.
Tamil Nadu police had said they would arrest any BJP leader or worker associated with the event in Thiruvallur.
The Tamil Nadu government had informed the Madras High Court on Thursday that the Vetri Vel Yatra, planned for November 6 to December 6, will not be allowed given the COVID-19 situation in the state.
The event is conceptualized in honor of Lord Murugan known for his “Vel” or spear.
December 6, the day the Vel Yatra was scheduled to end at the Thiruchendur Murugan Temple in the Thoothukudi district in the southern part of the state, marks the anniversary of the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992, which in turn had place at the end of a national campaign. Rath Yatra organized by the BJP under the leadership of LK Advani.
The BJP had called the Vetri Vel Yatra on a mission to expose what it called an “anti-Hindu” narrative and an “appeasement of minorities” in the state.
This is the third time that the ruling AIADMK has snubbed its ally, the BJP, after the tie ended in a close defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In September, the state government denied BJP’s permission for the idol immersion during Vinyagar Chathurthi celebrations. The state government recently issued an executive order guaranteeing a 7.5% reserve for public school students when the BJP-appointed governor delayed signing a bill for this.
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