Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 11 : A war of words erupted in Tamil Nadu between the ruling DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and the opposition party AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam).
On Thursday, Tamilisai Soundararajan, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader in alliance with the AIADMK, stated that the government is drawing funds from temple trusts to build colleges, but not from minority institutions.
Soundararajan said, "Actually, former chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami said that the government is taking money from Hindu temples, but not from minority organisations. When other departments also have funds, why are you so biased towards Hindu organisations? You are only taking money from temples. That's what he said."
Speaking to reporters, Soundararajan further said, "He ( Palaniswami) didn't say temple funds shouldn't be used; he only pointed out issues related to money management. We definitely encourage the use of funds to build institutions. However, the DMK government has twisted his words"
This comes after Palaniswami accused the DMK-led Tamil Nadu government of using temple funds given by devotees to build schools and colleges.
Ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, Palaniswami initiated a statewide campaign titled 'Let's Protect the People, Let's Save Tamil Nadu' in the Mettupalayam area of Coimbatore District.
Responding to this, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister PK Sekar Babu said that Palaniswami is unaware of history and is "drowned in the darkness of ignorance".
Babu stated that the regional party's alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was like a "murky pond", where one can't catch a fish.
"Edappadi is unaware of history. He is drowned in the darkness of ignorance. AIADMK alliance is like a murky pond; you cannot catch fish in it. DMK alliance, on the other hand, is flowing like a clear river," Babu said.
Both the AIADMK and the DMK have launched their campaigns for the assembly election scheduled to be held in 2026.