New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government has told the Madurai bench of the Madras high court that the stone pillar on Thirupparankundram hill which is presently in the centre of a controversy fuelled by Hindutva outfits, was established by the Jain community and did not belong to the Hindus.Senior Advocate N. Jothi, who was representing the Joint Commissioner of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, submitted that the stone pillar was established by Jains and there were similar pillars in Madurai district. Jothi gave the example of pillars in Samanar Hills near Keelakuyilkudi, and at Shravanabelagola in Karnataka, reported The Hindu.The state government in its submission before a division bench of Justices G. Jayachandran and K.K. Ramakrishnan added that Digambaras (one of the ascetic sects of Jainism), who had come from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh to Madurai, lived in the Thirupparankundram hills and used the stone pillar for lighting lamps during congregations.The state government said that it was not the place where Karthigai Deepam was lit and it was lit at the Uchipillaiyar temple mandapam. Any attempt to convert the nature of the stone pillar should not be permitted, said the submission, reported The Hindu.The division bench was hearing the arguments preferred against the order of Justice G.R. Swaminathan, who had earlier directed the Subramaniya Swamy temple management to light the Karthigai Deepam at the deepathoon besides the usual places, and other connected appeals.On December 9, members of the INDIA bloc had submitted an impeachment notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking the removal of Justice Swaminathan.“The conduct of Justice G.R. Swaminathan raises serious questions regarding impartiality, transparency, and the secular functioning of the judiciary,” states the notice. Filed under Article 217, and read with other provisions of the constitution, it accuses the judge of deciding cases on the basis of a particular political ideology in violation of the secular principles that bind the Indian judiciary.Every Karthigai Deepam, Tamil Hindus light lamps on the hillock behind the Arulmigu Subramaniya Swami Temple at Thirupparankundram in Madurai district. This has been the practice observed for generations. Yet this year, right-wing groups including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Hindu Munnani and BJP functionaries demanded that the lamp be lit not at the customary spot near the Uchi Pillaiyar Temple but on a pillar located beside the Hazarath Sultan Sikandar Badhusha Avuliya Dargah on the same hill.The presence of the Sikandar Dargah at Thirupparankundram has long been a focal point for right-wing attempts to manufacture religious friction. Litigation over the temple dates to the early 19th century.