Chennai, Dec8 (Truth Dive): TN CM
astrolger and Kerala-based astrologer Parappanangadi Unnikrishna
Panicker’s conducting of deviaprasanam(deity wishes) at the Arulmigu
Renugambal Amman temple in Padavedu village in Thiruvannamalai district
since Monday has raised doubts from devotees.
The
locals said Panicker had held many a deivaprasnam in the temple before
he was caught in a controversy after holding a similar ritual at the
Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala in 2006. Former Chairman of the temple
trust, Venugopal, was also not aware of the ritual, which is expected to
go on until Friday.
Panicker rode to
fame on the list of his celebrity clientele which includes the then Sri
Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J
Jayalalithaa, and ex Karnataka Chief Minister and Union Minister S M
Krishna, not to mention a large number of business magnates and film
personalities across the country.
Panicker
had predicted an electoral comeback for Jayalalithaa in 2002 when the
AIADMK leader was reeling under major electoral reverses, and court
cases. He had predicted that Jayalalithaa could regain the Chief
Ministership at a time when the court had barred her from contesting the
polls.
The thumping victory her
party scored in the Assembly elections and the favorable court verdicts
had raised his stocks high in Tamil Nadu.The then Sri Lankan Government
appointed Panicker honorary secretary of the Temple Construction Board,
functioning under the Sri Lankan Ministry of Culture.
Panicker
was summoned by the then Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga to
perform a “special pooja” to find a solution to the raging ethnic
problem in the island country.
In
another case, the family of the Kannada matinee idol, Rajkumar, had
solicited his advice following the kidnapping of the actor by forest
brigand Veerappan. Jayalalithaa had visited the Tirur Alathiyoor Hanuman
temple, the Guruvayur Sreekrishna temple and the Rajarajeswara temple
at Taliparamba on Panicker’s advise.The Tamil Nadu Government had
offered Rs 1 crore for the renovation works of the Alathiyur temple in
Kerala.
