Following a protest by Hindu Munnani cadres, a Christian marriage scheduled to be held in a Hindu temple controlled by the Hindu Religious Charitable and Endowments (HR&CE) department was halted.
On May 8th, Hindu Munnani state spokesperson and Chennai city president AT Elangovan on his Twitter handle posted an image of Chrisitain wedding invitation scheduled to be held in Thiruvetteesvarar temple in Chennai controlled by HR&CE.
The invitation, titled “Holy Marriage Invitation,” states that the wedding of groom Ajith Kumar and bride Kowsalya is scheduled for June 1st at Thiruvetteeswarar temple on Wanals road in Egmore, Chennai. The invitation also featured an image of baby Jesus with his mother Mary and Father Joseph.
Posting the image of invitation on his Twitter handle, AT Elangovan asked, “Is the temple just a marriage hall for Christians in DMK to get married? Action should be taken against the employee who gave permission (for Christian marriage in Hindu temple)”
கோயில் என்ன வெறும் சத்திரமா? திமுக வில் உள்ள கிறிஸ்தவர்கள் திருமணம் செய்ய? அனுமதி கொடுத்த பணியாளர் மீது நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும் @tnhrcedept pic.twitter.com/fRhlp8dQsP
— A.T.Elangovan (@elangovan_HM) May 8, 2023
Today (May 9th), Hindu Munnani workers assembled in front of the Thiruvetteeswarar temple to protest against the permission given to the Christian marriage. They demanded that the permission granted for Christian marriage be revoked and that action be taken against those responsible.
Following protest by Hindu Munnani cadres, the Executive Officer of the Thiruvetteeswarar temple issued a clarification, stating that the Christian marriage scheduled to be held at the temple has been cancelled.
The clarification issued by the Executive Officer Gangadevi of the Thiruvetteeswarar temple read, “Thiruvetteeswarar temple in Triplicane is managed by the HR&CE department. Only Hindus will be allowed to marry in this temple. As you stated in your letter, the marriage between Ajith Kumar and Kowsalya is not of the Hindu religion, and thus the marriage scheduled for June 1st is cancelled. We would like to bring to your attention that the marriage scheduled for June 1st in the temple has been cancelled in the interest of the temple administration and the public interest of the devotees as the marriage activities were found to be in violation of HR&CE rules.”
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