Chennai, April 24: The Tamil Nadu government today handed victory to Ramakrishna Math, saying it had “no plans to take back or demolish” Vivekananda House where the monk-philosopher stayed four years after his path-breaking 1893 Chicago address.

“The status quo vis-à-vis Vivekananda House will be maintained, and there is no need to exercise our minds over it, or make this a big issue,” chief minister M. Karunanidhi told the Assembly.

“The building is strong and I wish to assure you that nobody wants to pull it down or have any such intent.”

The Telegraph had earlier this week reported that the DMK-led government had sent word through an industrialist well-wisher of the Math that it would have to vacate the building by today (April 24), two years before the lease expires.

The chief minister, however, sent out a veiled warning. He said he hoped Math authorities would not take recourse to legal steps “in haste” and “try to challenge the government” as that would not be in tune with Vivekananda’s philosophy.

Math authorities sounded relieved, but were cautious. “For the time being there is no worry. Beyond that we don’t want to comment now,” said a spokesman for Swami Gautamanandaji, head of the Math in Chennai.

Almost the entire Opposition led by the ADMK and even some of the ruling DMK’s allies such as the Congress and the PMK had opposed any takeover bid by the state before or after the building’s lease period ended in February 2010.

Karunanidhi said there was no proposal to take back the building, which the emissary to the Math had said would be used to house a centre for Tamil classical language.