CHENNAI: Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments P K Sekarbabu on Wednesday denounced the BJP and Hindu outfits for allegedly trying to defame the department by politicising an incident that took place in Srirangam temple a couple of days ago.

They (BJP and Hindu outfits) resorted to such measures as they were unable to find fault in the Tamil Nadu government's flood mitigation and relief works in pre and post cyclone Michaung. And their intention to tarnish the image of the state government, said the minister while responding to a question on Tuesday's incident in Srirangam temple.

A group of devotees from Andhra Pradesh and a section of the security personnel in the temple exchanged blows. It was a fallout of an alleged unruly behaviour of devotees, who created noise and banged hundials in front of the sanctum of the temple.

The minister's response was to take a dig at BJP state president K Annamalai and Hindu Outfit. Annamalai took to social media and criticised the HR & CE department for the incident, while Hindu outfit staged a protest in front of the temple against the department. "What is the role of the department in the incident? It happened in the heat of the moment in an unfriendly environment. And how can one blame the department for the incident?" he asked.

"Don't try to defame the department, which witnessed historical developments under the present regime. Please stop blaming the government for such a stray incident, " he said and noted that the department, as per Chief Minister M K Stalin's direction, ordered a detailed enquiry. Action would be taken based on the outcome of the enquiry.