An obscene comment allegedly made by Tamil Nadu Forests Minister K Ponmudi lost his job as the DMK’s Deputy General Secretary on Friday. Ponmudi, known for use of uncharacteristic language, was accused of humiliating southern State’s Hindus who are either Vaishnavites or Shaivites.
Addressing a public meeting at Villupuram, Ponmudi had narrated a crass joke made in the past in some meetings held by the Dravidian movement, allegedly linking Shaivite and Vaishnavite symbols to sexual positions.
His speech went viral in the social media, leading to demand by furious members of the Hindu community for his ouster from the Government. What Ponmudi said in his speech is unprintable by any standards. What is significant is that his speech comes at a time when members of the community were also upset over alleged unparliamentary comments made by Deputy Chief Minister Udhayandhi Stalin, A Raja, Minister M Subramanian and other top leaders of the DMK.
K Annamali, the outgoing State BJP President, who is a stickler for norms, lambasted Ponmudi for the language he had used in his speech. “This is DMK’s standard political discourse in Tamil Nadu. Ponmudi was once the Minister for Higher Education and now the Minister for Forests.
Are the youth of Tamil Nadu expected to tolerate this filth? Not just this Minister, the entire DMK ecosystem is vulgar, foulmouthed and uncouth.
Hang your head in shame Mr Stalin, for leading such a disgraceful pack. By removing him from a party post today, if the DMK thinks people will move on, they are sadly mistaken.
DMK’s relentless attacks on the pillars of Hindu Dharma won’t go unanswered forever. Mr Stalin, don’t take our silence for weakness,” Annamalai said in his social media post.
A senior intelligence official in Tamil Nadu, who follows political speeches delivered by the Dravidian leaders, told this newspaper that there was nothing surprising in Ponmudi’s speech. “All DMK leaders, including late M Karunanidhi, late Anpazhagan, EV Ramasamy Naiker, Stalin and others follow the same pattern. Perhaps they do this to get maximum exposure and they are under the impression that the general public enjoys this kind of speeches,” said the officer on condition of anonymity.
Durai Murugan, the Party General Secretary and Minister for Water Resources too had courted controversy for lampooning physically challenged persons.
It was Durai Murugan who is alleged to have torn the sari of late Jayalalithaa when she was Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly.
