Palaniswami questions HR&CE's move to use temple funds for colleges; DMK hits back

Chennai: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami seeking to know from the DMK government whether it does not have money in its own resources to build colleges and questioning its move to establish new educational institutes using temple funds kicked up a political storm in Tamil Nadu.

While the AIADMK defended the remarks, the DMK jumped to criticise Palaniswami and asked him not to read the "BJP’s script". Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) minister P K Sekarbabu asked Palaniswami to "read history and learn how successive chief ministers since the 1950s have used temple funds to establish colleges for the benefit of the downtrodden".

In one of his campaign speeches late Tuesday, Palaniswami said devotees donate money to temples managed by the HR&CE department for the betterment of the temple and enhancing facilities, and asked how it is fair to divert that money to build colleges.

“Can’t the government build colleges using its own funds? When we governed the state, we established so many colleges using funds generated by the government. You are deliberately using temple funds through the HR&CE department. How is it justified to spend funds in this manner that are donated by people to temple?” he questioned.

“People view this as a conspiracy. Many people have asked me why the government is spending temple funds. It is as important to the nation as eyes are to a human. But education must be funded by the government. Don’t you have funds with the government?” he said to drive home his claim that the DMK government’s fiscal management was poor.

As the DMK mounted a social media campaign and protested against the remarks, the AIADMK said the DMK doesn’t have to teach the importance of education to Palaniswami, who it said established 11 new medical colleges during his tenure.

The DMK also reminded Palaniswami that AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran had in the 1980s established colleges attached to the Palani Murugan Temple and sought to know whether that was also a conspiracy.

“He is unaware of history. He should know the evolution of the HR&CE department,” Sekarbabu said.

The Stalin dispensation’s move to construct colleges using temple funds has been contested in courts by activists who maintain that the HR&CE department doesn’t have any rights to use money generated by the temples. They contended that HR&CE is not the owner of the 44,000 temples it manages but has only administrative powers.

“The 'fraud' department in 2021 colluded with the Higher Education Department to start colleges using temple funds and properties without even filing applications under law. I got a stay order for six colleges, and four colleges were permitted to run subject to the final order of the court,” said activist T R Ramesh, who is fighting the HR&CE in courts.

The statement by Palaniswami comes amid a debate over whether temples should be controlled by HR&CE or freed to be run by trusts.