Can’t stop Rath Yatra as it is peaceful: Tamil Nadu CM Edappadi K Palaniswami

CHENNAI: The Rama Rajya Rath Yatra being taken out by Sree Rama Dasa Mission Universal Society in Tamil Nadu has its echo in the State Assembly on Tuesday with principal opposition party DMK and its allies Congress and IUML urging the government to ban the yatra.The House witnessed noisy scenes for about 20 minutes and in the end, the DMK MLAs were evicted en masse while Congress and IUML members, as well as Thameemun Ansari of Manithaneya Jananayaka Makkal Katchi, staged a walk-out.  Later, they staged a road roko in front of the secretariat for a while and courted arrest.

During the zero hour, Leader of Opposition M K Stalin raised the issue and wanted the government to stop the yatra.However, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said the government cannot stop the yatra as it was peaceful in the States through which it had already passed. He also charged that the DMK and other political parties were trying to give political colour to the yatra and gain mileage out of the issue.

The Speaker expunged certain remarks made by Stalin, saying they were too harsh.

Following this, the DMK MLAs started raising slogans against the yatra and the government.
Speaker P Dhanapal’s umpteen number of appeals to DMK MLAs not to disrupt the proceedings went futile as Stalin and his colleagues were standing and raising slogans.  The Speaker moved on to other business like introduction of bills and even after that, the DMK MLAs were standing and the House witnessed noisy scenes for around 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, AIADMK’s ally Thameemun Ansari of Manithaneya Jananayaka Makkal Katchi rushed to the well of the House raising slogans.  Finally, the Speaker ordered en masse eviction of the DMK MLAs.

Replying to the issue raised by Stalin on yatra, the Chief Minister said the yatra which began in Ayodhya on February 13 had already passed through Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala peacefully and now entered Tamil Nadu.  He said the State police had made elaborate security arrangements to maintain law and order wherever the yatra would pass through and as a preventive measure, 121 persons were arrested in Tirunelveli, Kancheepuram, Nagapattinam, Madurai, Virudhunagar and Kanyakumari districts.

Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said that even in the States ruled by the Communist Party and the Congress party, the yatra was allowed and it went off peacefully. “If words that would divide the people here or that would incite violence are used during the yatra, the Tamil Nadu government will control and stop that,” he added.