NEW DELHI: Former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai on Sunday said he “completely rejects” the “atheistic and anti-Brahmin” ideologies espoused by EV Ramasamy, popularly known as “Periyar,” while acknowledging the Dravidian stalwart’s contributions to women’s empowerment and the fight against caste discrimination.“We acknowledge that he (Periyar) advocated women’s liberation and spoke about the eradication of caste. However, I completely reject Periyar’s atheistic views and his anti-Brahmin stance,” Annamalai said at a programme.Highlighting what he described as historical contradictions in the Dravidian leader’s positions, Annamalai pointed to Periyar’s opposition to Hindi, noting, “He spoke about Hindi opposition in 1935, but the same Periyar in 1965 said to shoot anyone who protests against Hindi.”The IPS officer-turned-politician also questioned Periyar’s political alignment with the DMK, citing his 1961 appeal to voters to support “Pachai Thamizhan” Kamaraj.Turning to the political agenda of his movement, “We The Leaders,” the former BJP leader reiterated his pledge to relocate statues bearing atheistic inscriptions installed outside Hindu temples if the BJP is voted to power in
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Tamil Nadu.“Saying ‘there is no God, there is no God, there is no God at all’ right outside the temple will not suit us,” Annamalai argued, maintaining that devotees visiting temples are believers and should not have to encounter such messages at temple entrances.“We will respectfully take it and place it in a new location,” he added, clarifying that the statues would be shifted to alternative public spaces out of consideration for temple-going devotees.Annamalai also praised “We The Leaders” volunteers for removing 163 tonnes of waste from a 33-acre stretch of the Vaigai river in Madurai during a seven-week cleanup drive that began on August 3.True political transformation in Tamil Nadu, he maintained, requires grassroots action rather than mere rhetoric. He also criticised the local administration for failing to utilise an estimated Rs 1,400 crore provided by the Central government between 2014 and 2019 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi for sanitation projects in Madurai, which he argued could have helped prevent such pollution.(With PTI inputs)