BJP slams TVK govt over temple land scams, power crisis

Tirunelveli (Tamil Nadu), Jul 14 (PTI) Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagendran on Tuesday alleged that the TVK government was turning a blind eye to massive temple land scams and failed to address the severe power crisis crippling rural areas in the state. Addressing the press, Nagendran highlighted several "controversial" land registrations and acute staff shortages in the electricity department, questioning the government's governance model. Raising serious allegations regarding the illegal transfer of temple properties, specifically citing a recent incident in Palani, the BJP leader alleged that on July 6, one acre and 40 cents of prime temple land, valued at over Rs 50 crore, was illegally registered. He reminded the government of multiple Supreme Court rulings, including the landmark 1968 case involving the Thenkarai Thirumoolanathasamy Temple in Madurai, which firmly established that temple lands belong solely to the deity. While advocating for the protection of long-term residents, he stated, "Those living on temple lands for 60–70 years should not be evicted, but they cannot be given pattas either and must pay a nominal rent to the temple to secure their tenancy rights." In the electricity department, Nagendran highlighted the "mounting distress" of people facing 7 to 8 hours of daily power cuts in districts like Thiruvallur. He attributed the failure to an acute shortage of field staff rather than a deficit in power generation. "I am not saying this merely to criticise a government that has only been in power for 60 days, but as a constructive suggestion," he said, adding, "the electricity minister keeps giving verbal assurances, but without hiring manpower, he cannot provide uninterrupted electricity," he said. The BJP leader also slammed the government for being silent on neighbouring Karnataka's moves to construct the Mekedatu dam across the Cauvery river. He noted that since the Mettur dam was not opened on June 3, Delta farmers have faced severe anxiety. Despite having close ties with the Congress leadership in Karnataka, the TVK government has failed to protect Tamil Nadu's interests. On the deteriorating law and order situation, Nagendran claimed the state is witnessing a spike in crimes, averaging multiple homicides every two days and urged the chief minister to move away from "filmy dialogues" on stage and focus on transparent governance. There was no immediate reaction from the state government. PTI SNR SNR KH