A political confrontation has broken out in Tamil Nadu following a power outage at the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple while former Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami was offering prayers. Portions of the historic shrine were plunged into darkness for seven to eight minutes before electricity was restored. Following his visit, Palaniswami strongly criticised the administration, stating that people are unable even to pray peacefully under the present government. Addressing the incident, Tamil Nadu Electricity Minister C. T. R. Nirmal Kumar clarified that maintenance activities and generator switchovers were underway due to multiple VIP visits. However, he also alleged deliberate foul play within the department, claiming miscreants purposefully disrupt electricity supply during VIP movements. The minister confirmed that internal transfers, meetings, and suspensions are being initiated to probe the lapse and address intentional sabotage.