In what is being seen as another attempt by PETA to attack Tamil culture, the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals had moved the Madras High Court in the first week of August to quash the order issued by Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy that made temple elephant Lakshmi to return to her home in Manakula Vinayagar Temple.
This case had come up for hearing today to the bench of Justice MM Sundresh and Justice R. Hemalatha. The Commune has received information that there were a large number of advocates who had objected to PETA’s move to oust Lakshmi. As the court (e-court) had come to a halt due to the heated arguments from both sides, the case has now been postponed to September 3, 3030.
Earlier, Lakshmi was displaced from her home in Manakula Vinayagar Temple to be kept at Krishi Vigyan Kendra in a pathetic condition. It was alleged that PETA was behind the move to remove Lakshmi from the temple. Indu Makkal Katchi (IMK) mobilized a campaign to rescue Lakshmi from PETA. Congress’s Americai V. Narayanan, BJP Puducherry’s Ganesan and other members from various Hindu organizations protested the move to remove Lakshmi from the temple. They had sought the intervention of Puducherry Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy to bring back Lakshmi home. Following this, Lakshmi was brought back to the Puducherry Manakkula Vinayagar Temple from the Kamaraj Agricultural Science Center in Kurumbapet.