CHENNAI: Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department PK Sekarbabu stated on Monday that the people of the State are ready to strike hard at forces that thrive on politics of hate in the 2026 Assembly elections in response to state BJP president K Annamalai's statement that the department would cease to exist once the BJP forms the government in TN.
The HR&CE minister asserted that false campaigns of anti-democratic forces would not succeed in the Dravidian land. "He (Annamalai) will never get elected by the people of this State, whether to the State assembly or the Lok Sabha. There is no place for those who seek to divide and rule on the basis of race, religion, or language. Our Chief Minister (MK Stalin) stands firm against such forces. Their false campaigns will fail," Sekarbabu said in response to a question about the statement made by the saffron party leader.
Sekarbabu made this remark after reviewing ongoing works at a cost of Rs 2.15 crore at the Arulmigu Agastheeswarar temple in Villivakkam. He continued in the same vein, pointing out that Annamalai’s tall claims ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections that the DMK and its allies would be defeated in all 40 constituencies in TN and Puducherry were proven wrong. He also referred to the BJP leader's claim that the DMK would forfeit its deposit in the Kongu region. "What happened?" Sekarbabu asked, pointing out DMK’s performance in the western belt. Despite efforts to spread misinformation and false campaigns, Annamalai would not secure a single seat in TN in the forthcoming Assembly polls, the minister said.
Sekarbabu also took a jibe at Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami for his remark that the DMK government would last only for the next 13 amavasai. Sekarbabu equated Palaniswami to the character Amavasai from the political satire movie Amaithipadai and said, "The people-oriented welfare schemes implemented by our government under the leadership of our leader (Stalin) will ensure our return to power in 2026. Our leader will continue serving as CM for 25 years."