Escalating the issue of the lamp lighting at Thiruparankundram hill near Madurai in Tamil Nadu, DMK members disrupted the Lok Sabha proceedings on Friday (5th December). The DMK members stormed the well of the Lok Sabha and staged a walkout, forcing the Question Hour to be adjourned.
The DMK raised the issue during Zero Hour, with DMK leader T.R. Baalu accusing the BJP of trying to create communal tensions in Tamil Nadu. Baalu went on to cast aspersions on Justice G.R. Swaminathan, who upheld the religious rights of Hindus by allowing the lighting of the lamp atop the Thiruparankundram hill, by alleging that he favoured a particular ideology. “Who should light the deepam on the hill? Whether the Hindu Religious Endowment Board representative or some miscreants who have got a judgment from a Madras High Court’s judge?” Baalu questioned. Baalu’s slanderous remarks attracted a strong objection from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, who said the DMK leader cannot cast aspersions on the judiciary and urged the chair to delete the remarks.
BJP leader and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs L Murugan hit back at the DMK leader and said that the DMK-led Tamil government was denying the Hindu devotees their right to worship at the Arulmighu Subramaniya Swamy Temple. “The State government is targeting a particular community, and law and order of that region is being vitiated,” said Murugan. He added that the Tamil Nadu Police arrested devotees who were proceeding to light the lamp at the temple atop the hill in compliance with the High Court order. “The Tamil Nadu Police stopped the worshippers and even arrested them. The Tamil Nadu BJP president, too, has been arrested,” Murugan stated.
VCK Chief Thol. Thirumavalavan calls Hindu devotees ‘terrorists’ and ‘rioters’
Meanwhile, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, founder-president Thol. Thirumavalavan termed Hindu devotees trying to light the lamp at the Thiruparankundram hill as “terrorists” and called for the impeachment of Justice G.R. Swaminathan. Accusing the Hindu devotees who attempted to exercise their Constitutional right of rioting, Thirumavalavan congratulated the Tamil Nadu government for preventing riots in Tirupparankundram. “On behalf of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, we extend our congratulations to the Tamil Nadu government for preventing riots in Tirupparankundram and establishing peace, and to all the people of Tirupparankundram for safeguarding religious harmony without giving space to the provocations of the terrorists involved in the riots,” Thirumavalavan wrote on X on Thursday (4th December).
#திருப்பரங்குன்றம் பிரச்சினை:
— Thol. Thirumavalavan (@thirumaofficial) December 4, 2025
கலவரத்தில் ஈடுபட்டவர்களை தமிழ்நாடு அரசு யுஏபிஏ சட்டத்தில் கைது செய்ய வேண்டும்!
இந்தியா கூட்டணி நீதிபதி ஜி.ஆர்.சுவாமிநாதன் மீது இம்பீச்மெண்ட் நடவடிக்கை எடுக்க வேண்டும்!
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திருப்பரங்குன்றத்தில் கலவரம் ஏற்படாமல் தடுத்து அமைதியை நிலைநாட்டிய… pic.twitter.com/j4QTJuMuY1
“In Tirupparankundram, terrorists have continuously engaged in hate propaganda in a manner that would incite religious riots. Instead of lighting the Karthigai Deepam at the usual place, as is customary, they attempted to light it at another location, contrary to historical evidence,” the VCK chief added. He demanded that “Sanatan Terrorists” who allegedly attacked police personnel atop Thiruparankundram hill be arrested and prosecuted under the UAPA Act.
Supreme Court agrees to hear a petition challenging the Madras HC order
On Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a plea filed by the Tamil Nadu government against the Madras High Court order, which permitted Hindu devotees of the Arulmighu Subramaniya Swamy Temple to light traditional ‘Karthigai Deepam lamp’ at ‘Deepathoon’, a stone lamp pillar located on the Thiruparankundram hillock close to a dargah.
On 1st December, Justice G.R. Swaminathan passed an order allowing the lighting of Karthigai Deepam at a traditional spot called Deepathoon atop Thiruparankundram hill on 3rd December. However, when the devotees reached there to light the lamp, they were prevented by the security personnel from doing so, which resulted in the eruption of clashes. The same day, the Madurai administration passed prohibitory orders for the area, further stopping the devotees from exercising their religious rights upheld by the High Court.
A contempt plea was subsequently filed before the High Court against the district administration for not complying with the court’s order. After hearing the contempt plea, the High Court ordered the implementation of its previous order as a symbolic gesture to assert the judicial authority of the court. The High Court allowed the petitioner to light a lamp at the Deepathoon and take 10 other persons with him, under protection.
