Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) P.K. Sekarbabu on Thursday said the government would soon take a call on allowing devotees to worship from the Kanakasabhai, inside the Nataraja temple in Chidambaram. The worship had been stopped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking to The Hindu, he said the Madras High Court had directed the government to take a call on the issue. “Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had directed us to make the decision after obtaining reports from the District Collector, Superintendent of Police and RDO. They have given a report on the issue and an order would be given soon,” he said.
He said a committee, comprising five senior officials, had been appointed to look into complaints about the temple in Chidambaram, but they were not allowed to carry out their duty. “A letter sent by registered post, requesting the cooperation of the Podhu Dikshithars has been, however, received,” he added.
The committee has been directed to look into 13 points, including complaints from devotees about not being allowed to offer worship, maintenance of proper accounts of public money, to see if ‘kattalai’ amounts are being spent on the temple, if its properties are safe and if documents are being maintained properly, Mr. Sekarbabu explained.
The Minister also said that he, along with Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran, would soon visit the Nataraja temple to ensure devotees were not denied their rights to offer worship.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Sekarbabu met presspersons after inspecting the Siddhi Buddhi Vinayakar temple in Royapettah, where repair and restoration works were to be carried out.
