K. Annamalai, former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu, stated on Sunday that he completely rejects the ideologies of E.V. Ramasamy, known as 'Periyar,' which are characterized as 'atheistic and anti-Brahmin.' However, he acknowledged the contribution of this figure of the Dravidian movement to advancing women's rights and fighting caste discrimination.
Annamalai emphasized that while they recognize that Periyar advocated for women's liberation and spoke about eradicating caste, he fundamentally disagrees with Periyar's atheistic views and anti-Brahmin stance.
Highlighting historical inconsistencies in the statements of the Dravidian leader, Annamalai pointed out Periyar's opposition to Hindi. He noted that in 1935, Periyar spoke against Hindi, but in 1965, the same Periyar called for shooting anyone who protested against Hindi.
The politician, who previously served as a police officer, also questioned Periyar's political allegiance to the DMK party, citing Periyar's appeal to voters in 1961 urging support for Kamaraj's 'Panchayat Tamizhan.'
Turning to the political agenda of his 'We The Leaders' movement, the former BJP leader reiterated his promise to relocate statues with atheistic inscriptions erected near Hindu temples if the BJP gains power. Annamalai stated that placing the inscription 'No God, No God, No God at all' directly next to a temple is inappropriate, as temple visitors are believers and should not encounter such messages at the entrance.
He added that such statues would be respectfully moved to another public place to consider the interests of temple devotees.
Furthermore, Annamalai praised the 'We The Leaders' volunteers for removing 163 tons of garbage from an area of 33 acres along the Vaigai River in Madurai during a seven-week cleanup campaign that began on August 3.
He argued that true political transformation in Tamil Nadu requires grassroots action, not just rhetoric. He also criticized the local administration for failing to utilize the estimated 1400 crore rupees allocated by the Central government between 2014 and 2019 to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sanitation projects in Madurai, which, in his opinion, could have prevented such pollution.