“Infringement Of Religious Rights”: TTV Dhinakaran Slams HR&CE’s ₹200 Fee For Local Devotees At Ramanathaswamy Temple In Rameswaram

TTV Dhinakaran, General Secretary of the Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), has strongly criticized the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government for enforcing a ₹200 fee on local devotees visiting the historic Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram.

Traditionally, local residents have accessed the temple through a designated special darshan route without charge. However, under the instructions of the newly appointed Joint Commissioner, locals are now being directed to use only the ₹200 paid darshan path, sparking confrontations between worshippers and temple officials.

Amid growing discontent, the People’s Welfare Association has announced plans for a protest on the 17 June 2025, condemning the temple administration’s actions, which they argue infringe on the fundamental right to worship. The protest seeks to restore access for local devotees via the previously used special darshan route without imposing fees.

In response to the protest call, a peace meeting was convened at the Rameswaram Taluk Office. However, the discussions ended in deadlock, as the Joint Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department remained unwavering in the decision to enforce the paid entry.

Reacting to the controversy, TTV Dhinakaran took to his official X account, issuing a strong warning to the HR&CE Department. He demanded that the mandatory ₹200 fee for local devotees be immediately revoked, stating, “Is it justifiable to impose a fee on local residents to have darshan of Lord Ramanathaswamy in Rameswaram? The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department must immediately withdraw this action, which infringes upon the religious rights of local devotees. Recent reports in newspapers have highlighted that the administration of the Ramanathaswamy Temple, located in Rameswaram, Ramanathapuram district, has shut down the traditional darshan route and locals are now being forced to take a paid route requiring a fee for darshan. Closing off a historically used path without any prior notice and restricting darshan only to those who pay the ₹200 fee is a direct violation of the religious rights of local worshippers. Additionally, devotees have complained that metal barricades have been erected in front of the Kasi Viswanathar and Dakshinamurthy shrines inside the temple, to ensure that everyone passes only through the fee-based route. A peace meeting held at the Rameswaram Taluk Office, under the leadership of the Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO), failed to reach a resolution. As a result, local devotees have been left with no choice but to organize a temple entry protest on the 17th, demanding their right to worship be restored. Therefore, I urge the temple administration, the HR&CE Department, and the Government of Tamil Nadu to lift the restrictions imposed on local devotees at the world-renowned Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram and allow them to use the special darshan route without any fee, as has been the tradition for generations.”