Annamalai warns DMK govt not to interfere in temple affairs or face consequences

Chennai, June 29 Police officer-turned-politician and state president of Tamil Nadu BJP, K. Annamalai has warned the DMK government not to interfere in temple affairs or face consequences for the same.

The BJP leader was speaking on the recent action of the state government and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department interfering in the affairs of Thillai Natarajar temple, Chidambaram.

In a statement on Thursday, the BJP leader said, "The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department has been continuously working to destroy the worship practices of Chidambaram Thillai Nataraja temple, which is more than thousand years old.

"The Supreme Court has made it clear that the Tamil Nadu government has no authority over the temples managed by the Denominated Community (Deekshithar). From the day the DMK came to power in 2021, Chidambaram temple has been continuously put into administrative hiatus and all efforts are being made to take over the temple by the HR&CE department."

He further said that the incompetent DMK government's action was not only against the Hindu religion but also against the Constitution of India and the rulings of the Supreme Court as well as that of the Madras High Court.

The firebrand BJP leader, who has taken on the DMK in Tamil Nadu, said that without belief in any Hindu sacred tenet of Hinduism and being home to a crowd that defames Hindu goddesses, the DMK, which is an atheist political party, was taking steps to destroy Hindu temples and its beliefs.

He also said that if the government further interferes in the affairs of Thillai Nataraja temple, then it would have to face severe consequences.