Hindu outfits protest against Nityananda coronation

TENSION prevailed at Madurai Adheenam (Mutt) here, one of the oldest Saivite mutts in the country, as Hindu outfits staged a protest against the appointment of self-styled godman Nityananda as its 293rd pontiff.

Hindu Makkal Katchi said the police allowed only six persons in to see the mutt heads.Though they wanted to meet the senior pontiff alone, they were denied permission and told to talk to them in the presence of 200 disciples, HMK state president Arjun Sampath said.

Sampath said the mutt had set a wrong precedent by announcing the new head without consulting disciples and heads of other mutts. Nityananda should have been appointed after being cleared of the charges against him, he said. Hindu Munnani said the present pointiff was appointed after being trained in religious rituals for four years.

VHP leader P Somasundaram said it was for the senior pontiff to establish if he had taken the correct decision. Nityananda,who formally took over on Sunday, later alleged that those using "defamatory terms" against him were out to "destroy" him. On the agitations by Hindu outfits, he said they had not understood him properly. The senior pontiff defended his decision, saying it was his prerogative to choose his successor. Nityanandha is the first person outside Saiva Velalar community to be appointed Mutt chief.Hehad landed in controversy after a video footage showing him in a compromising position with an actress was telecast by local TVchannels in March 2010.

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