A fresh political row erupted in Tamil Nadu after a replica of the temple Gopuram was placed atop former Chief Minister M Karunanidhi’s memorial at Marina Beach in Chennai. The BJP accused the ruling DMK of hurting Hindu sentiments with such a gesture, calling it a “height of arrogance”. It also said that the action was an “assault on Hindu faith”.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Narayanan Thirupathy demanded an apology from Chief Minister MK Stalin over the issue. M. Karunanidhi, a veteran leader of the DMK, held the position of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister for almost 20 years over five terms spanning from 1969 to 2011. He passed away in 2018, and a memorial in his honour was established at Marina Beach.
Reacting strongly to the placement of the temple replica on the memorial, Thirupathy said this was an insult to Hindu beliefs. "How can a temple gopuram be portrayed in a place where a body is buried? This is an assault on the faith and beliefs of Hindus. The Chief Minister, MK Stalin, has to immediately order the removal of the same. Playing with the sentiments of the Hindus will cost DMK in future. The anti-Hindu DMK government will be voted out of power shortly,” he wrote on X, sharing the picture of the memorial where the temple replica was placed.
"This is the height of arrogance. The Hindu religious department has placed has portrayed temple gopuram on the burial place, graveyard. Is it not a nonsense? How can you do this? Are you not ashamed? I think the chief minister should apologise for this and for hurting the sentiments of Hindus,” he further added.
DMK responds to BJP's accusations
In response to the BJP’s allegations, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said that it was a symbol of the Tamil Nadu government and takes place every year.
“I think today only all the BJP leaders went to the Kalaignar statue to take his blessings. This is happening every year. They should understand that it is the symbol of the government of Tamil Nadu… Our minister put the image over there to show respect to our leader. BJP is claiming that it is a Hindu temple. Whenever they speak, they want to portray DMK as an anti-Hindu party,” he said.
