The Hyderabad High Court on Thursday upheld the Telangana police's decision to deny permission for a 'Hanuman Rath Yatra' in the city and dismissed a petition by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
According to reports, the Telangana unit of the VHP wanted to begin the yatra from Basara in Telangana on March 18 and complete it at the Hanuman Temple at Tadbund on March 31.
However, the police had said that the move could likely disturb communal harmony and refused permission for the same. Following this, the VHP filed a plea with the Hyderabad HC.
In its petition, the VHP claimed that the yatra was intended to propagate Hindu dharma among the rural youth.
S Sharath Kumar, special counsel for the Telangana government, said that there were intelligence inputs that the yatra would create a law and order problem, and accused the VHP of taking out the yatra to create fear among the minority communities, DC reported.
The special counsel also said that rath yatras in the past, have also created social turmoil in the country.
This comes days after Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami urged the opposition parties not to give a political colour to the "Ram Rajya Rath Yatra" that entered their state.
Speaking in the Assembly, Palaniswami said the Rath Yatra crossed five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Kerala -- before entering Tamil Nadu.
"It is not right to give a political colour as the Rath Yatra has crossed five states," Palaniswami told Leader of Opposition MK Stalin who raised the issue in the House.
Not satisfied with the Chief Minister's response, the DMK members shouted slogans in the House, following which Speaker P Dhanapal ordered their eviction.
The Rath Yatra has been organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad with an aim to mobilise support for building a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
IANS inputs