Murugan conference begins, BJP hits out at DMK for ‘hurdles'

The courts delivered justice for the massive conference held for Tamil deity Lord Murugan in Madurai, BJP state chief Nainar Nagendran said on Sunday while accusing the ruling DMK for trying to obstruct the event. Murugan conference begins, BJP hits out at DMK for 'hurdles'
'We organised this (the conference) to protect our culture. We may not have got justice from the DMK government but we got justice from the courts and the conference is a huge success,' said Nagendran.
The Muruga Bakthargalin Aanmeega Maanadu (Spiritual Conference of Devotees of Murugan) was embroiled in controversy, with the Tamil Nadu police imposing several conditions, including restricting the 11-day programme to three days. On June 13, the Madurai bench of the Madras high court, granted permission for the event but asked the Hindu Munnani to comply with the conditions laid down by the police in Madurai.
The conference organised by right wing outfit Hindu Munnani with the backing of the BJP was held under tight security as scores of people thronged to visit the replicas at the venue made of six abodes (known locally as Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan that's present across Tamil Nadu. The conference to celebrate the Tamil deity was attended by Andhra Pradesh's deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, former BJP state president K Annamalai and the BJP's ally and Tamil Nadu's main opposition, the AIADMK. 'Certain groups who make fun of our culture and faith and call it secularism will disappear,' Kalyan said speaking in Tamil.
Union home minister Amit Shah who on June 8 from Madurai urged people to participate in large numbers is likely to visit TN again in July - his third since April- ahead of the 2026 assembly elections. Shah, in his speech a week ago, drew in Lord Murugan over the Thiruparankunram issue.
In February, there was tension at a temple (one of the six abodes of Lord Murugan) in Thiruparankundram near Madurai after members of Hindu Munnani held a protest against a demand by a few Muslim organisations to rename the hillock, which is also home to a dargah as Sikander malai (hillock). At the time, the residents belonging to the Hindu and Muslim communities said that they have coexisted peacefully for generations. But Shah said that the DMK had insulted Hindu worshippers here.
'Five lakh people have come today to Madurai for the conference for our ideology despite knowing that they will get wet in the rains today. This is a warning for the ruling government,' Annamalai said. He added that the Hindu religion was under threat referring to the attack in Pahalgham and India's response to Operation Sindoor.
This is not the first time that the BJP has drawn in on Lord Murugan. The party made a similar outreach through the vetri vel yatra (victorious spear held by Lord Murugan) which was launched by then president of the BJP state unit L Murugan trying to appropriate the significance of the deity before the Tamil Nadu assembly elections in 2021.Though the yatra received a tepid response, it became the talking point as the then state government, led by BJP's ally the AIADMK, denied permission for the yatra. BJP leaders defied orders and courted arrest as they carried on with the yatra for three weeks across Tamil Nadu. Later, 'Vetrivel, Veeravel' became the BJP's war cry during the election campaign. BJP national leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Shah began their rallies by raising the slogan.
Sunday's conference comes a year after the DMK, known to have been established with rationalist tenets, also organised a conference for Lord Murugan last year. Last August, the DMK government organised a two-day conference on Lord Murugan as part of its efforts to oppose the BJP painting them as anti-Hindu and to manage the fallout of deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin's controversial remarks against Sanatana Dharma.

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