All political parties in Tamil Nadu are gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections and conducting meetings at the grassroots level for the same.
On January 14, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) principal secretary Durai Vaiko spoke to the media in Madurai where he was conducting booth-level meetings. He condemned Karnataka BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde’s provocative remarks about demolishing mosques. Hegde in a speech to BJP workers in Kunta on January 13, said, “Some people can take it as a threat also. We will definitely do it. This is a decision of the Hindu community, not of Anantkumar Hegde. In every village of the state there are small religious places which were violated. Until they are demolished, the Hindu community will not sit idle.”
While the BJP has distanced itself from Hegde’s remarks, Durai Vaiko said to the media, “Hindu religion teaches principles like ‘Anbe Shivam’ and ‘Rama Rajiyam’, which puts forward equal justice for all. However, BJP leaders are evading these principles and doing politics with religion.”
He added that such statements would lead to violence in the country and given that India was already facing many socio-religious issues, this was not acceptable. According to Durai Vaiko, no religion preaches hate or the destruction of other faiths but that it has become a political tool today. He stressed that the MDMK would work to ensure that the INDIA bloc are victorious in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
He was also questioned about AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaswami being invited to attend the Ram Mandir consecration at Ayodhya on January 22 and EPS’s statement that he might not attend the function. Durai Vaiko replied that the AIADMK leader should take a firm stand and not be a fence-sitter with regard to AIADMK’s relationship with the BJP.
The MDMK principal secretary also spoke about their party’s take on development projects affecting the environment. Durai Vaiko said that development and protection of the environment should be in tandem and not at the cost of one or the other.
