Moovendar Munnetra Kazhagam has threatened to take out a procession from Madurai to Pasumpon on foot, if the Ramanathapuram police do not relax the conditions imposed on the Muthuramalinga Thevar guru puja celebrations on October 30.
Talking to reporters here on Tuesday, its president G.M.Sridhar Vandaiyar said his party had been paying respect to the freedom fighter at his memorial for several years. Despite restrictions by the police in the last few years, the number of people visiting the memorial had been growing.
But, the new order by the Ramanathapuram Superintendent of Police banning the use of hired vehicles to transport people and the entry of vehicles from other districts into Ramanathapuram district during the guru puja was aimed at stopping the event in the future, he charged.
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He also claimed that the police had banned memorial torches being taken to Pasumpon from various districts. Mr.Vandaiyar said the murder of Sub-Inspector of Police Alwin Sudhan in Sivaganga district during the death anniversary of Marudhu brothers last year was a fallout of a clash between two antisocial groups.
When asked about the fear of the police of a backlash during the guru puja following the death of seven persons in a petrol bomb attack during the event last year, he said it was the duty of the police to maintain law and order, and they should not ban guru puja.
His party was ready to cooperate with the police, he said, and added that he would take out a procession along with lakhs of people from Goripalayam to Pasumpon if the restrictions were not lifted.
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The party would submit a representation to the Inspector General of Police (South Zone) in this regard, he added.