CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Friday removed senior party leader and minister K. Ponmudy from the post of Deputy General Secretary after a video clip of a controversial speech he made at an event organized by the Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (TPDK) in Chennai on April 6 surfaced online.
The DMK minister recalled a crass joke that was made in the past in some meetings organised by the Dravidian movement, linking Saivite and Vaishnavite symbols to sexual positions.
Stalin appointed Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchy Siva to the post instead. Meanwhile, the party’s senior-most leader, General Secretary, and Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan issued an apology for the insensitive words he recently used to refer to people with disabilities.
The action from the DMK president came after the video clip of Ponmudy went viral on social media, attracting criticism from several quarters, especially the BJP.
Notably, DMK Deputy General Secretary and Parliamentary Party Leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi also condemned the remarks.
She said, "The recent speech of minister Ponmudy is not acceptable." "For whatever reason he had spoken, such vulgar words are condemnable," she said in a post on 'X.
The video surfaced on social media and went viral on Thursday night, coinciding with Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s arrival in Chennai.
Shah is scheduled to meet the media on Friday, during which an announcement regarding the alliance for the 2026 Assembly elections is expected.
BJP state president K. Annamalai, in a post on X, said, “This is DMK’s standard of political discourse in Tamil Nadu. Thiru Ponmudy was once the Higher Education Minister of Tamil Nadu and is now the Minister for Forests and Khadi, and the youth of Tamil Nadu are expected to tolerate this filth?”
“DMK’s relentless attacks on the pillars of Hindu Dharma (Saivam & Vainavam) won’t go unanswered forever,” he added, tagging Chief Minister Stalin in the post.
The event where Ponmudy made the remarks was organized by TPDK to commemorate the centenary year of popular orator of the Dravidian movement, Tiruvarur K. Thangarasu, who wrote the story and dialogues for the M.R. Radha-starrer superhit film Ratha Kanneer, known for its biting atheist and rationalist commentary by the anti-hero protagonist.
Addressing the event, Ponmudy recalled how orators of those years spoke about “obscenities” in Hindu religious texts through pattimandram – a format of public debate.
He recounted one such pattimandram held in Coimbatore many decades ago, which was advertised as “adults only” and for which entry tickets were sold.
Despite TPDK leader Kovai Ramakrishnan, who was on the dais, suggesting that he avoid the topic, Ponmudy went on to recollect a crass joke involving the distinct ways Saivites and Vaishnavites apply religious marks on their foreheads. He also addressed the women in attendance, asking them not to misunderstand his remarks.
TPDK’s propaganda secretary Viduthalai Arasu told TNIE that Ponmudy’s remarks were “taken out of context.” “He didn’t say anything new but merely recalled what had been said in the past,” he contended.
An organization named Saiva Chithantha Kazhagam released a statement on Thursday strongly condemning Ponmudy’s speech.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time Ponmudy has made a controversial remark. His earlier comment belittling women who used the ticket-less bus rides introduced by the Tamil Nadu government also attracted widespread criticism and censure from the party.
Meanwhile, Senior party leader Duraimurugan expressed unconditional regret for hurting the sentiments of people with disabilities, recalling that it was the late CM and party leader M. Karunanidhi who coined the term “differently-abled” to refer to people with disabilities in a more dignified manner.