Annamalai: Ban not fair, will lift palanquin myself

CHENNAI: Criticising the state for banning Pattina Pravesam of Dharmapuram Adheenam Masilamani Desiga Gnanasambandha Paramachariya Swamigal in Mayiladuthurai district, BJP state president K Annamalai on Wednesday warned that he himself would carry the palanquin if the permission was not given for the traditional event.

“There is political motive behind the ban. Why should the government suddenly ban it? The BJP has made this clear in the Assembly and we hope the government will consider it. It is wrong to lift a person on a palanquin for hire. We are against it, but a guru is equal to God. Hence it is not wrong to lift him,” Annamalai told reporters here.

The BJP leader said that five-time chief minister M Karunanidhi did not ban it. “Why should Chief Minister MK Stalin ban it? The event will certainly happen. I myself will go there and lift him,” he said.

On his visit to Sri Lanka, he said that the Centre had built four thousand houses for the Tamils. “They requested to build 10,000 more houses. Based on which the Centre has constructed those houses,” he said.

Annamalai also flayed the DMK government over lockup deaths. “There was one murder every week in police stations. The DGP has ordered the CB-CID to probe such deaths. What is the use of such a probe? No one was punished,” he said.