The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has stirred controversy following a statement by its Tamil Nadu president, K Annamalai. Annamalai announced that if the party secures victory in the state, their initial priority would be the removal of statues of E V Ramasamy, widely known as 'Periyar' and regarded as the father of the Dravidian movement, from the vicinity of temples.

The ruling DMK and the opposition AIADMK, both of which had withdrawn from the BJP alliance in September, responded strongly to Annamalai's statement. “As soon as the BJP comes to power in Tamil Nadu, the first signature would be to remove 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,” Annamalai said.

During an evening rally in Srirangam, located in Trichy district, he announced their intention to replace these statues with those of saint Thiruvalluvar and other prominent freedom fighters from the state. The rally took place at a venue situated between the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple and the Periyar statue.

Announcing his remarks, Annamalai was specifically addressing the flag of Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), the ideological precursor of the DMK and AIADMK parties, which he noted had been raised alongside the statue in 1967 in front of the temple. “The second BJP comes to power, we will remove all these flag posts, notice boards, and statues in front of all the temples,” Annamalai said.

He additionally mentioned the prospect of eliminating Tamil Nadu's Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE), responsible for overseeing nearly 50,000 temples across the state. “The first day of the BJP government will be the last day of the HR&CE department in the state” Annamalai said.

DMK and AIADMK leaders criticised Annamalai for his comments. “The sun which rises in the East may even rise in the West but the BJP can never come to power in Tamil Nadu,” said HR & CE minister Sekar Babu on Wednesday. “The people of Tamil Nadu will never give an opportunity to govern for a person like Annamalai…Because the DMK is welcoming to those who follow Hinduism and atheism, they (BJP) are unable to do anything.”

In September, the AIADMK, which had terminated its four-year alliance with the BJP, squarely placed the responsibility for the separation on Annamalai. They reiterated that the BJP's criticism of Dravidian icons would ultimately have adverse consequences. “Tamil Nadu will never accept this,” said AIADMK’s former minister D Jayakumar. “It is only courteous to show respect to late leaders. The remarks are cringe worthy.”

Image source: India Today