Non-Brahmins appointed as temple priests only in vacant posts: Stalin

Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday clarified that no existing priest has been removed from service to make way for non-Brahmins to be appointed as priests in temples managed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR & CE) department.

Intervening in the Assembly, Stalin said people who are not able to “tolerate” the DMK government’s move to appoint trained persons from all communities are “spreading misinformation” in social media. The Chief Minister’s clarification came after HR & CE minister P K Sekarbabu asserted that the new priests are being appointed only to posts that are vacant.

“Kalaignar (M Karunanidhi) brought a law to ensure that people from all communities become priests in temples. This law was to remove the thorn from Periyar’s heart (Periyar had termed non-Brahmins not being able to become priests as a thorn in his heart). The law could not be implemented then, but now we have ensured that it sees the light of the day,” Stalin said.

However, some people are spreading “misinformation” on social media to scuttle the government’s efforts to ensure social justice, he said. “We have not removed someone and appointed a new person in his place. If it has happened somewhere, we will take necessary action when it is brought to our attention. There shall be no doubt about this,” the CM added.

He said people understand the “designs” of the people who are spreading “false information” for political reasons. Social media and WhatsApp were abuzz with messages that non-Brahmin priests were appointed after removing the existing ones in many temples.

Earlier, Sekarbabu told reporters that the government will not remove any existing priest to accommodate new persons, while attacking “vested interests” for spreading rumours. “If working for the downtrodden is wrong, our Chief Minister (Stalin) will continue to commit the mistake,” he said.