TN minister rejects conspiracy over trustee names

The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday said the omission of the names of trustees from the invitation for the Kumbhabhishekam ceremony of the historic Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple was an administrative oversight and not deliberate.

Energy Resources and Law Minister R Nirmal Kumar addressed the controversy surrounding the invitation for the consecration ceremony scheduled for September 17. He rejected allegations that the trustees had been intentionally excluded, saying the omission was not part of any plan or conspiracy.

The minister attributed the issue to a lack of consensus among members of the temple’s current trustee committee. He also reiterated the state government’s stated policy of non-interference in temple administration.

Nirmal Kumar contrasted the government’s approach with previous regimes, alleging that party functionaries and family members had routinely been appointed to temple trustee boards.

Calling the controversy an “insignificant issue” that had been blown out of proportion, the minister sought to downplay the dispute ahead of the consecration ceremony.

with inputs from PTI