CHENNAI: Condemning Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her statement that the temple assets in the state are being looted, Tamil Nadu HR and CE Minister PK Sekarbabu on Wednesday said DMK government has been protecting the temples and its assets besides renovating and performing consecration of numerous temples.
The minister was responding to an allegation made by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Madurai on November 20 that temple properties are being looted and no one knew where the money (from the loot) went. “This government is not the one which aids in stealing temple assets. On the contrary, this government has taken all steps to protect the divine idols of deities, retrieved a lot of assets from encroachers, and has been performing the consecration of temples. Whoever is the person who levels charges against the HR and CE department, we are ready to answer them in a transparent manner,” the minister said addressing a press conference here.
The minister released data relating to the retrieval of temple assets that were encroached upon and numerous works completed for the upkeep of temples and for the welfare of the devotees during the past 30 months of DMK rule. Sekarbabu said those in power in the union government are trying to create an impression that the DMK government was against the Hindus. Since they could not realise what they aimed for, now a union minister has made an allegation without any basis, he said.
Sekarbabu also said Chief Minister MK Stalin took part in 54 programmes of the HR and CE department, and on November 24, he would be presiding over the wedding of 1,100 couples being performed by the department. “Since the chief minister is nurturing spirituality, people who cannot digest this and lost hope that no Hindu will vote for them in the elections are spreading such canards,” he added.
“After the DMK government assumed office, temple assets worth Rs 5,500 crore have been retrieved from encroachers through the sustained efforts of the HR and CE department. Consecration of 1,165 temples has been completed after carrying out renovation works during the past two-and-a-half years. The state-level experts committee gave approval for undertaking renovation works in 8,001 temples. During the previous regime, in five years, approval was given only for 1,500 temples to carry out renovation works. The DMK government has granted Rs 200 crore for carrying out renovation works in 1,000-year-old temples in the state,” the minister added.
Sekarbabu also said more than 400 idols and other antiquities that were illegally transported to other countries have been retrieved. Of the 1,843 strong rooms planned at a cost of Rs 162 crore for keeping the idols made of metal, 250 have been completed. Apart from the offerings received from the devotees through hundis and other resources, the DMK government has given the highest-ever grant of Rs 621 crore to the HR and CE department, he added.