HR&CE officials say they were asked to step down but they refused citing a G.O. in January 2026 that extended that tenure for another two yearsThe names of the Chairperson (Thakkar/Fit person) and members/trustees of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai are missing in the invitation printed for the consecration ceremony scheduled to be performed on September 17, 2026.Rukmini Palanivel Rajan, wife of late Speaker P.T.R. Palanivel Rajan and mother of former DMK Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, was appointed as chairperson with P.K.M. Chelliah, D. Subbulakshmi, M. Srinivasan and S. Meena as non-hereditary members by the then DMK government. The terms of the Thakkar and other members were extended for a term of two years through a G.O. in January 2026.After the elections in May this year, the DMK lost power and the TVK-led government came to power with C. Joseph Vijay as Chief Minister.Meanwhile, the Thakkar and trustees of the temple, who were working for the successful conduct of the consecration with HR&CE officials and the government, even before the elections to the Assembly was announced, are surprised at non-inclusion of their names in the official invitation.“When the invitation has the names of the Chief Minister, Ministers, MLAs, MPs, HR&CE officials, IAS officers and others, leaving the names of the chairperson and trustees is not in good taste,” said a trustee, requesting anonymity.When contacted, a senior HR&CE official said that after the new government came to power, the Thakkar and trustees were expected to step down paving way for the new ruling party to appoint persons of their choice. However, the trustees refused, citing the G.O. issued by the then government, which had extended the tenure for two years, which meant that they would remain in the post till 2028.The decision to appoint a new Thakkar and trustees has also been delayed due to multiple reasons, the official added.With the consecration celebrations taking place on September 17, the new government decided to go ahead with the invitation without the names of the Thakkar and trustees, the official added.A former Thakkar from a famous temple in Madurai said the government could have magnanimously printed the names of the current Thakkar and trustees as they had worked all these years for the consecration event. Otherwise, they should have quashed the G.O. and posted new Thakkar and trustees.An advocate, citing a Division Bench order of Justices G.R. Swaminathan and V. Lakshminarayanan, said that executive officers cannot interfere with religious practices of temples and should confine themselves to maintenance of movable and immovable properties. The Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple should celebrate the consecration in a grand manner, and should that not be presided over by the Thakkar, he asked. Published - August 23, 2026 08:44 pm IST