Former Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister Sekar Babu had criticized the ministers and MPs who had VIP darshan at the Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple consecration ceremony. Responding to that, Minister Ramesh said, ``There were many tasks at the Madurai Kumbabishekam, so we went through the VIP darshan route to oversee the arrangements. I don’t even know whether they have basic knowledge. An apple can be compared with an apple. An apple cannot be compared with an orange. They do not know the difference between an apple and an orange. Tiruvannamalai general darshan - Madurai Kumbabishekam. How can these be compared?'' he asked.
In response to this, Sekar Babu met reporters in Tiruvannamalai today. At that time, he said, ``The current Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister is focused only on making 'reels' inside temples. He is the one who does things like climbing the rajagopuram with footwear on and asking about the time of murukku production—that is the kind of person he is, the wise one. He does not know the difference between divine darshan and tower darshan. But we know the difference between holy water and ordinary water from an andaa. The vitamin C in an orange eaten by someone with fewer means and in an apple eaten by someone with more means is the same.
When meeting people during the Madurantakam by-election campaign, it was found that the Kalaignar Women’s Rights Grant had not reached many. In addition, full employment is not being provided under the 100-day employment scheme. People also say that even if they work, wages are not paid for 3 to 4 months. The prices of essential commodities such as sugar, rice, and pulses have risen. People are suffering immense, indescribable distress, saying, “This is the change we are experiencing when they keep talking about change.” Elephants have arrived at 5 temples because the restrictions imposed by the Central Government and the courts were removed. This also has no connection with the TVK government.
However, it was the Dravidian model government that gave the initial proposal for this. The current government’s unplanned announcements, such as the Tiruchendur fee hike, online darshan, and cellphone charges, were announced and then withdrawn again. At the 6,000-year-old Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple, 79 stone pillars were newly designed, the Veeravasantharayar Mandapam was built, and the consecration ceremony was conducted—this is an achievement of the Dravidian model rule.
"Aadhav Arjuna speaking to us, who have been in public life for 48 years, saying, 'Call your father, call your grandfather,' shows his foolishness. The DMK, with a history of 78 years, is a movement that has crossed many fiery trials. We have history to speak of. If someone asked him like that, what would he reply? They ruined Madurai by selling Madurai temple consecration tickets in the black market like cinema tickets. Nature, God, and the people will give a fitting reply at the right time to those who speak with arrogance and pride," he said.