Atheist DMK’s Working President Stalin Visits Srirangam Temple To Get Rid Of ‘Shukra Dosha’

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Working President M K Stalin on Friday (22 June) visited the Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam near Trichy in Tamil Nadu, much to the chagrin of atheists and senior party leaders.

On the other hand, Stalin was given a ceremonial welcome by priests of the temple at Srirangam, inviting the ire of a section of the Hindus. The DMK leader visited the temple of Lord Venkateswara as it is considered a “Shukra Sthal” (place of Venus planet) which people visit to get rid of any “Shukra Dosha” (curse of Venus). The dosha is related to illness, struggles and hard work.

Twitterati were bemused with news, and the temple’s priests, too, drew their ire on the platform.

The DMK is avowedly atheist being an offshoot of the Dravida Kazhagam, whose founder E V Ramasamy Naicker “Periyar” had called those worshipping God as fools. DMK President M Karunanidhi, who is now seriously ill, has often being criticised for being harsh on Hindus and Hinduism. Tweeple also pointed out that once Karunanidhi had wanted to blast the temple with a cannonball.

Karunanidhi’s practice of wearing a yellow shawl has also been mocked by his critics, while a video that emerged a few months ago showed Hindu priests reciting shlokas for his welfare at his residence.

Stalin’s wife Durga had gone visiting temples ahead of the May 2016 elections to the Tamil Nadu Assembly. Stalin’s visit is now seen as one of his efforts to become the state’s Chief Minister at a time Edappadi K Palaniswami, who was virtually an unknown entity a couple of years ago, heads the government in Tamil Nadu.

A senior journalist termed Stalin’s visit as an act of “burying atheism and Periyarism nine feet deep in Srirangam”. The temple visit also dilutes the party's staunch anti-Brahminical stand also.