Chief Minister M.K. Stalin alongside pontiffs Dharumapuram Aadheenam and Ponnambala Adigalar.
| Photo Credit: VEDHAN M
Chief Minister M. K. Stalin on Thursday said temples are symbols of art and culture, and stand witness to the prowess of the Tamils to create exquisite sculptures, and hence, taking care of temples is the duty of the government.
Speaking at an event held in Chennai for the distribution of ₹2 lakh each towards the maintenance of 2,500 temples in Adi Dravida settlements as well as village temples, amounting to a total of ₹50 crore, the CM said temples should be places where everyone is equal. Not even one human being should be shunned on the basis of caste, which is why the government is insisting upon persons of all castes becoming archakas, he explained.
The government was not against any religion, Mr. Stalin said. After the DMK government come to power, the kumbabhishekam of 3,986 temples have been conducted. In 2022 alone, of the 640 events that the Chief Minister took part in, 25 were events organised by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department, he said.
Minister for HR&CE, P.K. Sekarbabu, said previously only 1,000 temples were provided with financial assistance every year. The government, under Mr. Stalin, had increased this number to 2,500 and also increased the amount provided from ₹25,000 to ₹2 lakh to each temple.
The Chief Minister also released a calendar for the department. Minister for Information and Publicity M. P. Saminathan, Member of Parliament Dayanidhi Maran, HR&CE Secretary B. Chandra Mohan, Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran and Additional Commissioner R. Kannan were among those present on the occasion.
The Dharumapuram Aadheenam, Mayilam Bommapura Aadheenam, Perur Aadheenam, Ponnambala Adigalar and Chinna Kancheepuram Jeeyar also participated in the event.
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