Even as a Ram Rajya Rath Yatra organised by a small organisation entered Tamil Nadu on Tuesday morning, it was exit time for the DMK, the main Opposition party, from the Assembly. The DMK members were evicted from the House for creating ruckus while Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswamy was speaking.
Hundreds of policemen guarded the arterial roads in Chennai as various Islamist organisations staged a road roko demanding a ban on the entry of the Yatra in the State.
Top DMK leader MK Stalin and his associates were arrested by police for staging road roko at Kamarajar Salai in front of Fort Saint George, Tamil Nadu’s seat of power. They were let off after some time. leaders of various Tamil chauvinist and Islamist organisations too courted arrest for staging demonstrations all over the State demanding the ban on the Yatra.
By the end of the day the Yatra became an instant hit in Tamil Nadu thanks to the 24X7 TV news channels which beamed its live pictures and interviews with the hitherto unheard sanyasins in the State.
Stalin, while speaking in the Assembly demanded the immediate ban on the Yatra. “This is a dangerous move by the Central and State Governments. The Yatra will jeopardize the communal harmony and secularism in Tamil Nadu. The land of Annadurai, Ramaswamy Naicker and Karunanidhi has no place for Ram Rajya,” said Stalin.
When the Chief Minister rose to reply to the charges by Stalin, the DMK members were on their feet and shouted the Chief Minister down. This made the Speaker order the eviction of the DMK members from the House. “We have taken all measures to ensure peace and harmony in the State. Certain political leaders are intent on fomenting troubles in the State. This Rath Yatra was flagged off from Uttar Pradesh and has crossed five States till now. There were no law & order problems in these States. We are monitoring the situation continuously,” said Palaniswamy.
While the DMK-led Opposition alleged that the Ram Rath Yatra was being led by VHP and admonished the organisation for its attempt to divide the State, it turned out that the Yatra was being led by Sree Ramadassa Mission Universal Society. “The yatra was flagged off by Yogi Adityanath, the UP Chief Minister, on February 13 and we have travelled across the States of UP, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala and now we are here in Tamil Nadu,” said Swamy Sakthi Santha Ananda Maharishi, the national general secretary of the society.
Speaking to The Pioneer over telephone from Tenkashi in Tirunelveli district, the monk said ,the yatra is being staged to create an awareness about the importance of Ramayana in the life of an Indian. “We would like the Government to make Ramayana a part of the syllabus in our schools and colleges and the establishment of Ram Rajya as well as the construction of the Ram Temple at Ram Janmabhumi,” said the monk.