Row sparked by Annamalai’s comment about the Periyar monuments

Following its president K Annamalai’s statement that the party’s first task upon winning the state would be to remove the sculptures of E V Ramasamy, the patriarch of the Dravidian movement known as “Periyar,” from outside temples, the Bharatiya Janata Party has sparked a controversy.

Both the opposition AIADMK and the governing DMK, who broke from the BJP coalition in September, responded angrily to Annamalai.

“The statues of the person (Periyar), who said there is no God and those who worship God are fools, that are erected in front of temples across the state would be removed as soon as the BJP comes to power in Tamil Nadu,” Annamalai said.

He continued, saying that saint Thiruvalluvar and other state liberation warriors will take the place of the sculptures, during a gathering on Tuesday night in Srirangam, in the Trichy district. The gathering took place at a location halfway between the Periyar monument and the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple.

Annamalai was alluding to the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) flag in front of the temple, which he said was raised in 1967 along with the statue. The DK is the ideological father of the DMK and AIADMK. Annamalai said, “We will remove all these flag posts, notice boards, and statues in front of all the temples the second BJP comes to power.”

In addition, he proposed dismantling the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department in Tamil Nadu, which is in charge of around 50,000 temples. “The HR&CE department in the state will close on the first day of the BJP government,” Annamalai said.

Leaders of the DMK and AIADMK chastised Annamalai for his remarks. Sekar Babu, the minister of HR and CE, said on Wednesday that “the sun which rises in the East may even rise in the West but the BJP can never come to power in Tamil Nadu.” “The people of Tamil Nadu would never allow someone like Annamalai to hold public office…The BJP can do nothing since the DMK welcomes those who practice Hinduism and atheism.

After terminating their four-year coalition with the BJP in September, the AIADMK attributed the breakup entirely to Annamalai. They reaffirmed on Wednesday that the BJP will suffer consequences from their criticism of Dravidian icons. Tamil Nadu would never put up with this, said D Jayakumar, a former minister for the AIADMK. It’s only polite to pay tribute to deceased leaders. The comments are abhorrent.