The Tamil Nadu Congress has been engaging in various kinds of stunts recently, especially following the conclusion of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. In an unprecedented move, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President Selvaperunthagai stated, “The Ram temple will not be demolished if the I.N.D.I coalition comes to power. We are not destroyers; we are builders.”
On 19 May 2024, Tamil Nadu Council of Progressive Thinkers President Tambaram Narayanan and others joined the Congress party at the Congress headquarters, Sathyamurthy Bhawan, in the presence of Tamil Nadu Congress President Selvaperunthagai. Speaking to the media, Selvaperunthagai remarked, “With four phases of elections completed, Prime Minister Modi and other leaders are resorting to extreme hate politics because they know the BJP won’t be able to form the government. They’re spinning bulldozer tales.
He further added “As far as the Congress, all religions are respected. As a devotee of Ram myself, how could we demolish the Ram temple? Congress has always been about building the nation, not demolishing it. The speeches of Modi and BJP leaders are contradicting each other. They do not respect Indian Constitution and Representation of People Act. The Election Commission is remarkably watching silent. Elections should be conducted fairly, but the BJP is engaging in hate politics out of fear of losing. Modi’s criticism of free bus travel for women reveals the BJP’s stance against women. Women should also have access to free travel on metro trains. Wherever there is good governance, it is Kamaraj’s rule.”
This recent endorsement marks a significant shift for Congress in Tamil Nadu, indicating a departure from the longstanding anti-Hindu stance associated with the DMK in the state. Notably, in April 2022, Congress MP Jothimani from Karur, Tamil Nadu, sparked controversy by claiming she was unfamiliar with Lord Ram and stating that there are no temples dedicated to him in Tamil Nadu.
The Lok Sabha MP from Karur said “I’m from Tamil Nadu. I don’t know Ram. Because we are indigenous people. We follow ‘ancestral worship’. You ask anybody in Tamil Nadu. We don’t see any Ram Temple. Every week I go to my temple. Because my clan used to go that temple. Basically, it is an ‘ancestor worship’. There are many south Indian states, even north-east tribals, SCs, Dalits, OBCs, we pray indigenous worship, basically an ancestral worship. So, that’s what we’re trying to say.”, she further added.
Jothimani also hinted that she never knew about Ram before coming to national politics but contradicted the same statement saying “I read Ramayana, I read Mahabharatha, that’s how I know. When it comes to worship, we strictly worship our ancestors.”
அன்றும்… இன்றும்… pic.twitter.com/GUOVSIbRrx
— Kathir News (@KathirNews) May 19, 2024
It is to be notable that the TNCC president Selvaperunthagai, on 13 May 2024, openly expressed his grievances, highlighting the 2026 state assembly elections. He emphasized the party’s past role as a decisive force in the 1950s and urged party members to aim for that level of authority once again. His candid remarks have reportedly caused a commotion within the I.N.D.I Alliance in Tamil Nadu.
Selvaperunthagai lamented, “How long will we wait for another party (DMK) to give us seats? In Tamil Nadu, the Congress party should grow from the position of asking for seats to the position of giving seats.”
#JUSTIN | முதன்மை கட்சியாக காங்கிரஸ் மாற வேண்டும் – செல்வப்பெருந்தகை#Selvaperunthagai | #Congress | #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/FqxqmOlO2s
— PuthiyathalaimuraiTV (@PTTVOnlineNews) May 13, 2024
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