Tamil Nadu: Days After He Sought Release Of Kovai Bomb Blast Convicts, Edappadi Palaniswami Now Demands Prayer Facilities For Muslim Inmates In Vellore Jail

Continuing his determined bid to woo Muslim voters, AIADMK general secretary and leader of opposition in Tamil Nadu Assembly, Edappadi K Palaniswami, today demanded that the ruling DMK government in the state must immediately provide prayer facilities to the Muslim prisoners lodged in Vellore jail.

"Denying the Muslim prisoners their right to carry out their religious duties is condemnable " the former CM said in a statement.

"The prisons were not just meant for punitive purposes but they were also places where the prisoners could be reformed and guided to a better life." he further added.

Palaniswami claimed that prisoners were earlier permitted to worship according to their religion and accused the DMK government of curtailing the practice.

Palaniswami also pointed out that during the ADMK reign, all prisons in the state, including Vellore, were earmarked places for inmates of different religions to pray during festival times. He also said religious leaders were allowed to pray inside the jail premises.

Alleging that the DMK government opened places of worship of other religions, he said that only Mosques inside the prison remain shut down.

Palaniswami demanded that the Tamil Nadu government immediately open the facilities and restore Muslims' right to worship inside the jail.

Earlier this week, Palaniswami demanded that the Tamil Nadu government release 36 Muslim convicts, including 16 serving life imprisonment for their role in the 1998 Coimbatore bomb blasts, which killed 58 people and left over 200 injured.

Speaking on the Tamil Nadu assembly floor during a session convened amid the Cauvery issue, Palaniswami urged the state government to release the Muslim convicts on 'humanitarian grounds'.

AIADMK had recently passed a resolution at its party conference in favour of their release.