We are enemies of communalism, not religion: Stalin

CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday said that the DMK regime was opposed only to communalism and not religion.

Speaking at an event organised by the state HR and CE department to distribute Rs 2 lakh each to 1,250 temples in Adi Dravidar and Scheduled Tribe areas at an overall cost of Rs 50 crore, Stalin said, "People who do not like the term Dravidam are attempting to project us enemies of the religion.

My humble message to them is, we are only enemies of communalism and not religion. Let them learn through this event. They might not be able to watch it directly. They are in high positions. They might watch the event on television or read in newspapers tomorrow."

Describing temples as cultural symbols, the Chief Minister said, "It is the duty of our government to protect and preserve such temples, which are our cultural identities. Such temples should be the places of social justice. No man should be discriminated against in the name of caste. Hence, we implemented the all caste archakas scheme."

Adding that Tamil should flourish in all temples, the Chief Minister said that be it rural or poor or Adi Dravidar area temples, his government would treat them all equally and implement renovation and restoration works everywhere.

Asserting that the government does not differentiate on caste or religious lines or differentiate between god and temples, Stalin said that they would treat all faiths and beliefs equally.

Reiterating that the Dravidian model government would work till everyone gets everything, the CM listed out the various welfare schemes implemented by the HR and CE department in his regime and said that of the 165 announcements made in the demand for grants for 2021-22 financial year for the department, 135 works have been undertaken.