DMK Remove Minister K Ponmudi From Party Post Over Controversial Statement On Shaivism-Vaishnavism

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Friday removed Forest Minister K Ponmudi from his party position as Deputy General Secretary after his controversial remarks at a public event on Shaivism-Vaishnavism.

K Ponmudi drew criticism from the opposition as well as from party MP Kanimozhi for his remarks. A clip of the minister making the purported remarks has gone viral.

Earlier today, BJP leader Amit Malviya lambasted K Ponmudi over his controversial remarks.

Taking to X, Malviya wrote, "After Udhayanidhi Stalin’s disgraceful attack on Sanatan Dharma, DMK Minister K. Ponmudi has now taken the baton of Hindu-bashing forward."

"At a public event, Ponmudi recounted a vulgar anecdote involving a prostitute and a man, where he mockingly reduced sacred Hindu symbols to crude sexual innuendos. Referring to the Shaivite horizontal tilak as the ‘lying down position’ and the Vaishnavite vertical tilak as the ‘standing position,’ his remarks were not just offensive—they were deliberately insulting to the core beliefs of two major Hindu sects," he added.

Malviya noted that this isn’t Ponmudi’s first brush with controversy. In 2022, he targeted Hindi speakers in Tamil Nadu, belittling them as panipuri sellers—another example of his divisive rhetoric.

Alleging that opposition parties engage in minority appeasement politics, he stated, "The pattern is clear. Whether it’s DMK, Congress, TMC, or RJD—members of the I.N.D.I. Alliance seem united not by ideology, but by a shared disdain for Hindu beliefs and a relentless pursuit of minority appeasement. Their politics thrive on insult, provocation, and calculated disrespect toward the majority community."

DMK MP Kanimozhi also criticised the Tamil Nadu minister, stating that such statements by Ponmudi were not acceptable. "For whatever reason he had spoken, such vulgar words are condemnable," she said in a post on X.

Published on: Friday, April 11, 2025, 11:30 AM IST