There were tense moments at the Koniamman Temple near Town Hall on Friday morning as Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Ms. Tamilisai Soundararajan and other State leaders of the party and its sister organisations waited for more than an hour as the city police denied permission for them to take part in a religious procession from the temple.
Ms. Soundararajan was about to flag off a procession in which more than 100 women were to carry molapari to a temple at Nallampalayam. The police stopped them citing that the organisers had not obtained prior permission to organise the procession and that going ahead with the procession would be against the regulatory order that is in effect in the city.
Police deployment was also strengthened at the temple as the organisers argued with the police in a frantic effort to get permission and to begin the procession. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), Coimbatore City, R.V. Ramya Bharathi spoke with Ms. Soundararajan and other leaders.
Permission for the procession was granted after cutting short the distance and with a change in the starting point. The procession started from the Forest College on Cowley Brown Road.
