As the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) continues its jubilant mood ahead of the general elections, having fulfilled its promise to construct a Ram temple in Ayodhya, the political landscape in Tamil Nadu takes a different turn as the DMK government plans an international conference on Lord Murugan, revered as the Tamil God.
P. K. Sekar Babu, State Minister for the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, told The Times of India that the Stalin-led DMK government will host the international conference in June or July across the world.
“There will be exhibitions, conclaves and research papers submitted on Lord Murugan at the conference,” Sekar Babu added.
In the past, political parties in Tamil Nadu have associated themselves with Lord Murugan. For instance, in 2020, the BJP organised ‘Vel Yatras’ when L. Murugan was the state unit president, covering six major shrines of the deity across the state. Additionally, Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman linked his party with Lord Murugan, claiming that Tamils are descendants of the deity.
However, DMK’s shift towards a religious approach marks a new political strategy. This move also drew criticism from the BJP, with the party’s state secretary R. Srinivasan accusing DMK of mimicking their ideology.
“First they (DMK) copied schemes of Centre and pasted stickers on them. Now they are copying our ideology and doing politics,” Srinivasan stated.
The BJP leader further remarked that the deity cannot be restricted to just Tamil Nadu as he is worshipped across the country, adding, “People of Tamil Nadu will not fall for such ploys.”
Sekar Babu emphasised that there was no politics involved in conducting the international conference and highlighted that the state government has been spending on Lord Murugan since it came to power.
“Like the ‘Muruga, Muruga’ slogans, we have slogans such as ‘Shiva, Shiva’ when we worship Lord Shiva and worship Lord Perumal too… We have included Tiruchendur Murugan temple in master plan of state govt and allotted Rs 300 crore to renovate the temple,” the Tamil Nadu Minister asserted.
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