On saffron yoke, AIADMK took part in Murugan meet that denigrated Dravidian ideology, says Sekarbabu

CHENNAI: Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Minister PK Sekarbabu launched a scathing attack on the AIADMK and its leaders for attending the Madurai Murugan Manadu, terming it a politically motivated event.

The event organised by Hindu outfits under the guise of a spiritual conference was aimed at undermining Dravidian ideology, Sekarbabu said. The DMK minister claimed that this clearly demonstrated the AIADMK and its leadership had executed a "charter of slavery" and completely surrendered themselves to the BJP.

"I wonder how AIADMK leaders could attend a conference where individuals like K Annamalai, who has spoken disparagingly about Dravidian icons and former Chief Ministers such as Anna (CN Annadurai) and J Jayalalithaa. He cited the presence of H Raja, who has openly vowed to dismantle Dravidianism, to underscore his point. This vididly indicates that the AIADMK has surrendered itself to the BJP and has executed a charter of slavery to it," Sekarbabu told media persons a day after the AIADMK leaders R B Udhayakumar, Sellur K Raju, and three others attended the Hindu Munnani's Murugan Bakthi Manadu in Madurai.

He went on to describe the BJP-backed Murugan Manadu as a "political meeting" that would ultimately fail. "For us, spirituality and politics are two distinct entities, and our Chief Minister, M K Stalin, upholds this principle. We will stick to it," he said.

"What do they expect? That temples be handed over to BJP functionaries?" the minister retorted, responding to one of the resolutions passed at the conference, which called for temples to be freed from the HR&CE department and handed over to Hindu organisations.

"These kinds of ideas must be quelled at their source," he said, adding that those who raise such demands lack even a basic understanding of the origins of the department. He recalled how temples were once managed by hereditary groups, who often ran them like profit-making enterprises and looted their resources. It was for this reason that the department was established under the provisions of the HR&CE Act of 1959, following multiple court rulings, he added.

Quoting former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's famous lines from the film 'Parasakthi,' "We are not against temples, but they should not turn havens for dacoits," the minister said that divisive forces are now attempting to reverse the very revolution that safeguarded temples from the grip of anti-social elements.