Former DMK Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan has suddenly found his voice on the administration of Hindu temples.
In a social media post on 17 September 2026, PTR said he had deliberately stayed away from the controversy until now, claiming that he had “tried to stay detached from the matter for multiple reasons.”
He said one of those reasons was his distaste for what he called the “malodor of the main culprit”, adding that he had kept away from the individual “irrespective of our respective political parties” or positions.
PTR then turned his criticism towards the conduct of the HR&CE Department.
He said the HR&CE Minister and officials had been censured by the High Court during the hearings, based on oral observations reported by the media, and to a lesser extent in the written judgment.
But PTR argued that they were “not the real culprits here.”
According to him, the officials were “at worst guilty of being unwarrantedly subservient to a rank opportunist and profoundly unworthy individual.”
PTR also singled out the temple trustees.
He praised the three women trustees for standing up for their rights under the HR&CE Act and the court’s judgments. At the same time, he criticised the two male trustees, saying they had “given up their rights in the court immediately” and that their rights were subsequently restored by the women trustees who stood firm.
He concluded his assessment of the male trustees with: “The less said about them the better.”
𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗿: The entire Kumbabishegam ceremony today, has been directed by the current TVK Government through its Officers without considering any inputs from the Trustees. This has been done in direct contravention of both the relevant Tamil Nadu Acts & Statutes and of… pic.twitter.com/GnKSId3tE6
— Dr P Thiaga Rajan (PTR) (@ptrmadurai) September 17, 2026
The irony, however, is hard to miss.
PTR was a senior minister in the previous DMK government from 2021 to 2026. During the very period when the HR&CE Department was under the control of his own government and PK Sekar Babu was the HR&CE Minister, several controversies, several irregularities arose over temple administration, Agamic practices, temple funds and the treatment of traditional priests.
There is no evidence of PTR making the same kind of public intervention then.
Palani Kumbhabhishekam And The Agama Controversy
One of the most prominent controversies concerned the 2023 Kumbhabhishekam at the Palani Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple.
The Kumbhabhishekam was conducted on January 27, 2023. A petition before the Madras High Court challenged the manner in which the subsequent Mandala Abhishekam was proposed to be conducted.
The petitioner argued that established Agamic practice required Mandala Abhishekam to be conducted continuously for 48 days after the Kumbhabhishekam, and alleged that the HR&CE authorities had proposed to restrict it to only three days. The petition specifically alleged that the hurried arrangements and proposed truncation were contrary to established Agamic practices.
The issue was not merely a political allegation. It reached the Madras High Court.
The court recorded the argument that Mandala Abhishekam was an integral part of the Kumbhabhishekam process and that the petitioner was seeking protection of established temple customs. The matter was ultimately settled after the authorities agreed to conduct the Mandala Abhishekam in accordance with the terms recorded before the court.
Yet this was during the DMK regime, when PTR was a Cabinet minister.
The question is simple: where was this concern for Agamic traditions then?
₹245.85 Crore Of Temple-Funded Commercial Projects
The issue was not restricted to rituals.
During the DMK regime, the HR&CE Department approved 46 projects worth ₹245.85 crore using temple resources. These comprised 29 marriage halls costing ₹115.77 crore and 17 commercial complexes costing ₹130.08 crore.
After the change of government, the TVK administration cancelled those 46 sanctions in June 2026. The department cited court stays and concerns regarding the financial burden on temples. The projects had not commenced.
The use of temple surplus funds for such projects had already become a matter of litigation.
In August 2025, the Madras High Court dealt with petitions challenging HR&CE proposals to construct marriage halls, commercial complexes and other buildings using temple surplus funds. The court recorded that the department had proposed commercial ventures using temple funds.
This was happening while the DMK was in power.
PTR was not an outsider observing the HR&CE Department from the sidelines. He was part of the government that administered the department.
Tiruchendur Priests’ Access Row
Then came the controversy at Tiruchendur.
During the July 2025 Kumbhabhishekam of the Tiruchendur Subramania Swamy Temple, a video emerged showing traditional Trisuthandharas confronting then HR&CE Minister P.K. Sekar Babu over their access to the temple during the consecration ceremony.
The Commune reported that the priests alleged they had been denied access while ruling-party members were given priority. The confrontation was directly with the HR&CE Minister during the Kumbhabhishekam.
The issue of Agamic procedure had also reached court before the ceremony. In June 2025, the Madras High Court directed the authorities to constitute an expert committee including traditional temple experts and instructed that the majority opinion be followed in accordance with the Agama of the temple.
Again, this was the DMK government’s HR&CE administration.
Again, PTR was a senior member of that government.
Tenkasi: Kalasam Falls Four Months After Kumbhabhishekam
The Tenkasi Kasi Viswanathar Temple provided another troubling episode.
In August 2025, barely four months after the temple’s Kumbhabhishekam, the cement kalasam from the Rajagopuram came crashing down.
The temple was administered by the HR&CE Department. Devotees subsequently demanded an investigation into the quality of the restoration work and questioned how a newly renovated structure could suffer such a failure so soon after its consecration.
This too happened under the DMK government.
Yet there was no comparable public campaign from PTR about the state of temple administration.
The atrocities committed by the HR&CE under the DMK government regarding Agamic practices, temple funds, priests and HR&CE administration all occurred while the DMK was in power and PTR was a minister, yet he remained largely silent. Now that the government has changed, PTR has found his voice – where was this scrutiny when his own party was running the department?
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