A social media post by DMK mouthpiece Sun News drew criticism for twisting remarks made by AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) regarding the use of temple funds by the DMK government to build colleges in the state.
The post featured a caption stating, “Edappadi Palanisamy speaks out against starting colleges with funds from major temples”, along with a graphic quoting EPS as saying, “How is it fair to build colleges using temple money? People see this as a conspiracy.”
#NewsUpdate | பெரிய கோயில்களின் நிதியில் இருந்து கல்லூரிகள் தொடங்கப்பட்டதற்கு எதிராக எடப்பாடி பழனிசாமி பேச்சு#SunNews | #TNHRCE | #ADMK | #EPS pic.twitter.com/QZCNSiWdfs
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) July 8, 2025
However, the truth is that the news outlet distorted the core message of his speech, which was delivered in Coimbatore as part of his 2026 Assembly election campaign.
In his speech, EPS questioned the government’s authority to divert temple funds administered by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department for purposes such as building colleges. He stated that such funds are collected through devotee contributions meant specifically for temple maintenance and development.
“People donate to temples so that they are maintained well. But the government is taking that money and using it for colleges. Shouldn’t colleges be funded by the government?” he said.
Legal experts and activists have pointed out that temple funds are not government property. According to prevailing laws, temples are religious trusts, and the HR&CE Department is only an administrator, tasked with ensuring that temple management is conducted as per the decisions of trustees and the intentions of devotees. In many temples across Tamil Nadu, trustees have not been appointed for years, leaving significant financial decisions in the hands of bureaucrats, which critics argue is both unconstitutional and unethical. Critics also pointed out that the point was not about whether colleges should be built and that as mentioned by EPS in his speech, most devotees may not object to it; but the core issue is who has the right to make that decision.
It is alleged that building contracts for such colleges and halls are being used as a pretext to siphon off temple funds.
Activists like T.R. Ramesh have filed multiple cases challenging what they describe as the unlawful use of temple money, and that the state government is violating constitutional norms by using temple wealth without trustee or devotee consent; and have questioned why similar actions are not taken with funds from churches or Waqf boards.
Sun News, as expected of a Dravidianist mouthpiece, has twisted EPS’s remarks to suggest he opposed the idea of using temple funds for public education, when his concern was about the government’s lack of legal authority to do so without trustee approval.
Temple money DOES NOT belong to the Govt. It belongs to the temples. HRCE Department is NOT the owner of the temples.
Govt DOES NOT have the authority under law to decide on how the temple money must be spent. Their role is to audit and to oversee that the administration is in… https://t.co/zx8MQtrqes— Sumanth Raman (@sumanthraman) July 9, 2025
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