“You Take Temple Hundi Money To Build Colleges, Shouldn’t Govt Be Building Colleges From Its Money?”, EPS Takes Hindutva Route To Slam DMK

AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) on Monday, 8 July 2025, criticised the DMK government for diverting temple funds towards the construction of educational institutions. Speaking at a public rally as a part of his statewide campaign ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls, he questioned the rationale behind using money collected from temples and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department for purposes other than temple development.

He said, “There was money in the temple, they couldn’t bear it. I shouldn’t say it, you are smart enough to understand it yourselves, their eyes get agitated when they see temples. They take all the money from the temples and start building colleges. In order to maintain and build temples, good-hearted and devout people like you, put money in the hundi which goes to the Endowments department. What does it go for, what do you put money in the hundi for? So that the temple can be maintained well. That is why you donate money to the temple. But they take that money and build colleges. Shouldn’t the government build colleges? In the AIADMK rule, we built several colleges – medical colleges, every one of them built with government money. But you are not like that. You conspire and take the money from the Endowments department and spend on all this, how justified is it? Think about it. People are looking at it as a conspiracy. Many people requested me as to why they are spending the money from the temple and the Endowments department is spending it.
They are not saying not to spend it for education. Education is important. Just as the eyes are important to a person, education is important to a country. But that education can be given from the government. Why? Is there no money in the government? Is there no money for 10 colleges? Why are we opening so many government arts colleges, medical colleges, engineering colleges, agricultural colleges, medical colleges, law colleges, etc. When we open so many colleges, if we cannot build even a normal arts and science college from the government’s funds, then is the government necessary?”

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