Tamil Nadu BJP ally asks Hindus to unite ahead of state polls

Hindu Munnani, a right-wing outfit aligned with the BJP, on Sunday urged voters to assert the power of the Hindu vote bank in the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly elections, scheduled for April next year. Speaking at the Lord Murugan Devotees Conference, the group passed a resolution calling for Hindu unity and the protection of Hindu rights and temples.

Another resolution at the conference, which was attended by Andhra Pradesh deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and BJP office-bearers of Tamil Nadu, said the DMK government should "stop treating temples as revenue sources and use funds to benefit devotees".

Pawan Kalyan slams 'secularists'
Pawan Kalyan slammed 'secularists' and atheists for what he called selective outrage—targeting Hinduism while staying silent on other religions. Meanwhile, parties like the DMK, Congress, NTK, and MDMK criticised the BJP, accusing it of using the conference to exploit religion for political gain.


"Secularism has become a convenient word for a lot of people. Secularism means there should not be any discrimination in the name of any religion, except Hinduism, Hindu gods and Hindu culture. The so-called secularists do not have the guts to speak about the religion which came from Arabia," Pawan Kalyan said, adding that for atheists, "it has become a habit to denigrate our gods. This has to change. If this does not change, it would be difficult to sustain Hindu dharma".

Though BJP's ally AIADMK has chosen not to speak about the conference, four former ministers from the party - R B Udhayakumar, Sellur K Raju, Rajendhira Balaji and Kadambur Raju - participated in the event. Union minister L Murugan and senior BJP members H Raja, Tamilisai Soundararajan and Vanathi Srinivasan were also present.

BJP-AIADMK to fight polls together:
Previously, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the BJP and the AIADMK will contest the next year's Tamil Nadu assembly polls together. The BJP will fight under the leadership of AIADMK chief Edappadi Palaniswami, Shah said.

"AIADMK and BJP leaders have decided that AIADMK, BJP and all the alliance parties will contest the upcoming vidhan sabha elections in Tamil Nadu together as the NDA," Shah said at a press conference in Chennai, in the presence of outgoing BJP TN chief K Annamalai and Palaniswami.

The BJP leader, however, clarified that no conditions have been set for the alliance between the two parties, while adding that the alliance would defeat the MK Stalin-led DMK and form the government with full majority.

Details like seat sharing and plan on ministry distribution within the alliance would be finalised later, he said.