S Senthilkumar, a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu, has stirred controversy by objecting to a Hindu priest doing ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ for a road project. When the MP arrived in his home district, he questioned an official if he was aware that a government function should not be arranged in such a way that just one religion’s prayers were included.
“Sir, Do you have instructions or not that government functions should not be held like this. Are you aware or not?” he asked. He even shared the video of the incident through his Twitter handle.
The Hindu priest who attended the function wearing saffron robes was also insulted by S Senthilkumar. Pointing towards the Hindu priest, the MP asked the official, “What is this? Where are the other religions? Where are the Christians and Muslims? Invite the Church father, the Imam, invite those who do not profess any religion, the atheists’, the Dravidar Kazhagam (representatives).”
The MP also urged authorities present to ‘clean’ everything, presumably alluding to preparations for the Hindu priest to perform Bhoomi Puja alone. The event was held for the groundbreaking of a road project in Tamilnadu’s Dharmapuri District.
Narayanan Thirupathy, the vice president of the Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), fiercely denounced Senthilkumar and questioned if the MP would have behaved in the same way if the official had been Muslim and had offered prayers in accordance with Islamic principles. Pujas are performed with the employees’ beliefs in mind, not for the benefit of the government, he said. “Senthilkumar’s behaviour was childish,” he continued, adding that Senthilkumar must apologise to the public for disrespecting people’s faith.
In a tweet, Thirupathy wrote, “I strongly condemn @DrSenthil_MDRD for insulting Hindu beliefs and rituals at a work place where poojas were about to be performed by the workers to their beliefs. His abuse and behaviour has once confirmed that @arivalayam is a anti-Hindu party.”