Madras High Court on VHP-Hindu Munnani Idol Immersion Row

The Madras High Court on Friday observed that there appeared to be a “game of one-upmanship” between Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Hindu Munnani in the celebration of Vinayagar/ Ganesha Chaturthi.Justice V Lakshminarayanan made the observation while dealing with VHP's plea for permission to hold its Vinayagar idol immersion processions in Nilgris district on September 20 (Sunday), instead of the dates allotted by the police. Notably, the police fixed September 20 as the date for the Hindu Munnani's idol immersion procession. September 20 marks the seventh day of the Vinayagar Chaturthi celebrations that started on September 14. Meanwhile, the VHP was given permission to hold their processions on September 19 and September 21.The Court today refused to alter these dates. The judge also questioned why the VHP and the Hindu Munnani, which were broadly part of the same ideological grouping, could not coordinate with each other on such matters.“It’s all a game of one-upmanship. You want to say you are more powerful than Hindu Munnani; he is VHP,” the Court remarked.The judge also quipped in Tamil that the only apparent difference between the two groups was the language spoken by their respective Vinayagars.“Your Vinayagar will speak in Hindi, their Vinayagar will speak in Tamil, that is the only difference! Don't unnecessarily do politics with all this and stress out the police," Justice Lakshminarayan advised. Justice V LakshminarayananMadras High CourtYour Vinayagar will spea