Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday said religion cannot be a tool to divide people and those who cause such divisions cannot be true spiritualists.
He said those doing politics in the name of religion are not aware of DMK’s contribution to development, including restoration of temples and improving infrastructure in heritage cities.
The chief minister, who chose the meeting in the temple town of Tiruvannamalai, famous for the ancient Annamalaiyar temple, Girivalam procession and Karthigai Deepam festival, said he was not against any religion. But, he said that he opposes those dividing people on the basis of religion. He said that he ignores those who accuse him of being anti-Hindu and those who are trying to cheap propaganda.
“I don’t care about people who lie and want cheap publicity. After laying the foundation stone of new projects worth Rs 340 crore, inaugurating projects worth Rs 70 crore and disbursing welfare assistance of Rs 693 crore to 1.74 lakh beneficiaries, the Chief Minister said that you should not care but embrace development.
He said that he is not running the DMK party or the government on the basis of religion, but with the aim of serving the people. To those wondering whether temple restoration was a Dravidian model of governance, he said he would reiterate that such a model of governance rests on equitable development.
Stalin said, “To go a step further, I would say that the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act was enacted in 1925 by our parent organisation, the Justice Party, to bring temples under the control of the state government.”
People doing politics in the name of religion will not know because they lack genuine intention, he said in a veiled reference BJPWhich is criticizing him a lot. “They are not real spiritualists. They are hypocrites. They play the religious card to serve their interests,” the chief minister said.
Assuring to provide facilities for the Arunachaleswara temple and the city and along the 14-km-long Girivalam route, Stalin announced that a high-level committee consisting of human resources and officials from CE, district administration and panchayats would be formed. Maintenance work in this city
Also, steps will be taken to prepare a detailed project report for ensuring road connectivity and bus stand, and projects will be implemented after obtaining environmental clearance for the benefit of 75,000 tribals living in around 20 hill villages of the district. Will go
He said the principles of the DMK were followed by its leaders CN Annadurai and M. was nurtured on the philosophy of Karunanidhi who emphasized that one can “see God in the smile of the poor (Ezhaiyin Siripil Iraivanai Kanbom), a clan, a god (Ondre Kulam Oruvane Devan), and all beings are equal by birth (pirapokkum ella uyirakkum) .