Row erupts as AIADMK leader attends RSS event, Velumani says ‘was invited’
The ruling DMK has criticized the AIADMK for abandoning their Dravidian ideology and attending an RSS event.
A political slugfest has erupted in Tamil Nadu over AIADMK attending a centenary celebration event of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Perur Ramasamy Adigalar in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore on Monday, with the RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat also present. The ruling DMK has criticized the AIADMK for abandoning their Dravidian ideology and attending an RSS event.
Bhagwat took part in a special pooja and later addressed a public meeting. SP Velumani, AIADMK’s former minister and a close aide of leader of Edappadi Palaniswami was in the front row at the event next to former BJP state president K Annamalai. This comes a day after other senior AIADMK leaders including RB Udayakumar and Kadambur C Raju participated in a conference for Tamil deity Lord Murugan organised by right-wing outfit Hindu Munnani with the backing of the BJP in Madurai district. The AIADMK said that they didn’t accept the resolutions passed at the Murugan conference and attended the RSS event since the invite came from the adheenam.
“The AIADMK members, who have time to sit as showpieces at RSS-BJP conferences, have neither the time nor the dignity to speak out against these things to their masters,” chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin said on Monday. Stalin made the remarks in the context of the CBI registering a case against the National Testing Agency (NTA) and a Maharashtra-based doctor for allegedly manipulating marks in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) this year. The ruling DMK government has been against NEET and passed a Bill in the state assembly for it to be abolished but it was rejected by the President. “Yet another case that proves NEET isn’t about merit; it’s only about the market. That’s why we’re saying it loud and clear, #NEETisnotNEAT, and we have every reason to,” Stalin posted on X.
The Muruga Bakthargalin Aanmeega Maanadu (Spiritual Conference of Devotees of Murugan) on June 22 saw the participation of Andhra Pradesh deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan and other BJP leaders who at the event had criticised Tamil Nadu’s Dravidian stalwarts EV Ramasamy (Periyar) and CN Annadurai. “Do you know the person in white pointing a finger in the centre of your flag? It is Annadurai. Have you replaced Anna with Amit Shah?” asked minister for mines, S Regupathy. DMK’s organising secretary RS Bharathi sought to remind the AIADMK that its late founder and chief minister MG Ramachandran had condemned the Hindu Munnani in the 1980s questioning whether their rallies held in the name of Hindus benefit the nation.
“Palaniswami, general secretary of the AIADMK which carries the name Dravidam, extends greetings to this conference aimed at destroying Dravidianism..Don’t they realize that if Dravidianism is destroyed, AIADMK will be destroyed too?” Bharathi said in a statement. “Tamil Nadu is the only state in India that denies space to BJP’s communal politics. Despite BJP’s several tricks with an intention to create riots, they have failed because of the Dravidian movement.”
In his response, Velumani said he participated in the RSS event because he was invited by the Perur Shaivite mutt and he hails from Coimbatore. “I saw RS Bharathi’s statement. People are against the DMK now so they are making such statements to deviate attention from their failures,” Velumani said.
On AIADMK leaders attending the Murugan conference, the party on Monday said in a statement that they participated as “devotees” and that the AIADMK doesn’t subscribe to any of the resolutions passed at the meeting nor it endorses criticism against Dravidian leaders.
BJP’s president Nainar Nagendran said that the DMK was making such statements because they were jealous that the Murugan drew 5 lakh people and there was no untoward incident. “DMK is afraid of losing now. So they are blabbering,” Nagendran told reporters.
