After the Karuppar Koottam episode, in which the rabid YouTube channel run by ‘Periyarists’ with links to the DMK, abused Hindu God Murugan and Kandha Sashti Kavasam, the DMK has been feeling the heat for its anti-Hindu politics.
The issue had led to a churn in the state with the BJP Tamil Nadu unit launching a state-wide Vel Yathrai in which BJP leaders headed by Dr. L. Murugan covered the six abodes of Lord Murugan.
Since then, the DMK has been sweating over the rising Hindu consolidation in Tamil Nadu with many of its leaders trying to placate the Hindu voters.
Recently Kanimozhi, the Thoothukudi MP and daughter of late DMK patriarch Karunanidhi, said that DMK was the only party and M.K. Stalin was the only leader to give voice to the majority Hindus. Now the DMK chief himself has upped the ante in order to shed his anti-Hindu image.
At a DMK Gram Sabha meeting held in Ammaiyar Kuppam near Tiruttani, the DMK chief was presented with a silver Vel (spear weapon of Lord Murugan) by the party cadres. Reportedly, poojas were done to this silver Vel at the Tiruttani Murugan temple before presenting it to M.K. Stalin.
Many on social media pointed out that the party is now attempting to shed its anti-Hindu that it had brought upon itself over the decades.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
DMK President @mkstalin poses with a #Vel !
BJP’s #VelYatra impact. pic.twitter.com/kzYMheQS0W
— SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) January 23, 2021
இவனுங்க 5.வருடங்களில்
54.மாதம் இந்துக்களையும் ஆன்மிகத்தையும் கொடூரமாக வர்ணிப்பானுங்க.
எலக்க்ஷசன் வரும்
அந்த 6.மாதம் மட்டும்.
ஆன்மீக வேசம் போடுவானுங்க.
இதெல்லாம் என்ன பொழப்பு! இந்து மதத்தை நாளை பூணூல் கூட போட்டுக்க்கொள்வார் போலிருக்கிறது ஹிந்துத்வா வந்துடும் விரைவில். https://t.co/PQAil2XkEC— தமிழச்சி nationalist (@SONIA_JINNAH) January 23, 2021
The DMK for long is a party known for hurting the religious sentiments of Hindus. Earlier, the DMK Chief had on multiple occasions said that if one were to look at the meaning of the mantras chanted during Hindu wedding ceremonies, it would turn out to be ‘disgusting’. He had rubbed off the haldi (turmeric paste) applied on his head by Hindu priests at the Srirangam temple, the one which his father M. Karunanidhi wanted to destroy with a cannon ball. Just a few weeks ago, he rubbed off the vibudhi prasadam given to him at the Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar temple. Even , when the Karuppar Koottam episode happened, there was stoic silence from the DMK chief with only the second rung of leaders trying to defend the party distancing themselves from the rabid Periyarists.
Many point that it has become the norm for ‘secular parties’ to cater to the Hindu vote bank by making temple visits and treading soft on them just before elections which they think will help in attracting some Hindu votes. Amidst already existing anti-DMK wave, the party is trying to placate the Hindu voters and calm the waters so that they don’t get destroyed by an anti-DMK tsunami towards the elections.