The Hindu Munnani members staged a massive protest at Palanganatham in Madurai on Tuesday evening, barely hours after the Madras high court gave its nod for the agitation at the new venue.
Several thousands of devotees, Hindu Munnani functionaries, and BJP members participated in the protest raising slogans hailing Murugan (Lord Subrahmanya), the Hindu Munnani said.
Some even raised slogans: "reclaim Thiruparankundram hill," and "Murugan's army of devotees defeats detention" on the occasion.
Hindu Munnani state president Kadeshwara Subramaniam and scores of activists were arrested as they proceeded to Thiruparankundram to stage the protest against a group of people who consumed non-vegetarian food on the sacred hill.
BJP senior H Raja said the Madurai bench of the Madras high court granted permission for the Hindu Munnani's protest. The court also directed the police to release all Hindu Munnani and BJP members either detained or kept under house arrest.
The court had permitted the agitation to be staged between 5 and 6 pm at Palanganathan and not Thiruparankundram as originally sought by the protesters.
BJP state chief K Annamalai accused the ruling DMK of imposing the prohibitory order in Madurai to prevent the protest aimed to protect the sanctity of the temple and condemning the organisations that were against Hindus.
In a post on social media platform X, he said the DMK government was conducting itself in a discriminatory manner in the events related to the Thiruparankundram Arulmigu Subrahmanya Swamy Temple Hill.
He said the BJP leaders kept under house arrest should be released immediately.
"There is a limit to everything. Are there separate rules for a DMK minister and the public? The DMK government should immediately stop supporting unnecessary activities that continue to harass the people," Annamalai said in the post.
Earlier in the day, the scenic Thiruparankundram hill town, where the abode of Lord Subramanya graces devotees, had turned into a police citadel with over 4,000 police and officers from 10 districts taking control following the prohibitory orders clamped by the Madurai district administration.
About eight activists from the Hindu Munnani, which had announced an agitation have been detained by the police.
Though the temple on the hilltop is dedicated to Lord Subramanya, there's a Sikandar Badusha Dargah on the hill. Things had been normal in the town until a group of people allegedly consumed non-vegetarian food on the hillock much to the ire of the Hindu devotees, recently.
The police said eight Hindu Munnani members have been detained as a precautionary measure.
Condemning the arrest and also the administration's decision, Raja said when national agencies were involved in arresting terrorists hiding in Tamil Nadu, the state police resorted to arresting members of Hindu organisations that wanted to stage a peaceful protect on the Thiruparankundram hill. "This situation will change one day," he said.
Terming the ban order as "suppression of democratic rights and feelings of devotees," Kadeshwara Subramaniam who came to Madurai with a "Vel" (spear) in his hand, said his organisation would not hesitate to launch a freedom struggle for Hindus from Madurai soil.
"If the ruling DMK thinks that it can suppress the voice of democracy and also the feelings of devotees by force, then the Hindu Munnani will once again wage a freedom struggle for Hindus on the soil of Madurai, defying the ban with the support of Murugan devotees," he said.
He accused the police of foisting cases against many people purportedly for violating the ban.
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