The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner to inspect a statue of former Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran, reportedly installed without permission outside the Varasakthi Vinayagar Temple at Nesapakkam, and submit a report to the court by next month.
A Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha passed the order on a public interest litigation petition filed by M. Gopla, a local resident and a retired railway employee. Petitioner’s counsel A.P. Suryaprakasam told the court that the temple in question at Nesapakkam was nearly 275 years old.
Constructed as per the Agama rules, it had been designed in such a way that devotees would be able to see the main tower, flag mast and the deity together. However, Over the years, local politicians had begun installing party flag masts and statues of political leaders, thereby blocking free view of the deity inside the temple.
After repeated representations, the Congress and DMK Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam partymen removed the idols of former Chief Minister Kamaraj and C.N. Annadurai, but ‘Bullet’ Gowthaman, an AMMK leader, refused to remove the idol of MGR on the ground that it was installed by his father, the petitioner alleged.
