Rally taken out in Srirangam seeking deportation of lyricist Vairamuthu

TRICHY: Condemning Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu’s recent reference to Hindu goddess

Andal

in a derogatory manner, locals, priests and pro-Hindu outfits staged a rally in

Srirangam

near

Trichy

on Friday.

The protesters raised slogans demanding the deportation of the lyricist from the country for his remark on the lone female Alwars among the 12 saints revered for their contribution toward Vaishnavism.

Sri Ranga Narayana Jeeyar of Srirangam and senior priests in Sri Ranganathaswamy temple, the foremost of all 108 divyadesam temples, participated in the rally.

The rally, organised by the devotees of Andal was taken out from

Amma Mandapam

ghats to Ranga Ranga gopuram in the temple.

During a literary event in

Rajapalayam

a few days ago, Vairamuthu delivered a lecture on Andal and her contribution to Tamil. He later apologised for the controversial remark. The protesters criticised him for making a reference to a book brought by

Indian University

which claims that Andal was a devadasi who lived and died at Sri Ranganathaswamy temple.

“All those who participated in the protest, mostly women, are devotees of Andal whom we revere as a goddess for her literary contribution towards Vaishnavism. Criticising a goddess in a derogatory manner should not be welcomed for any reason. It has hurt our religious sentiments,” M Thiruvenkadam Yadav, BJP’s Srirangam unit treasurer, told TOI.

After the rally reached Ranga Ranga gopuram, about 250 people including pro-Hindu outfits circumnavigated the South Uthra and North Uthra streets running around the temple complex with protest slogans including one pitching for the deportation of Vairamuthu.