Ruling AIADMK Condemns DMK Chief Stalin For Describing Hindu Marriage Rituals As ‘Obscene’, Wonders Why Hindu Beliefs Alone Are Derided

Tamil Nadu’s ruling party AIADMK has strongly condemned DMK president M K Stalin Tuesday for attempting to divide people on religious lines after a two-year-old video clip of the DMK chief surfaced on social media were he is seen launching a vituperative tirade against traditional Hindu marriage ceremonies that feature Vedic chanting, PTI reported.

In the video, which went viral in social media, Stalin is seen lavishly praising the way the bride and groom are seated in chairs in the marriage functions of another religion. He observes that as against this, in Hindu marriages, the couple is made to sit on the floor in an ‘uncivilised’ manner and the purohit starts a fire between them. This fire, Stalin is heard saying, creates irritation in the eyes of the bride and groom, making them shed tears and it soon also creates irritation in the eyes of the people who are standing around witnessing the marriage ceremony.

The part of the video that most people found objectionable was the one were Stalin repeats a palpably false propaganda that the mantras are full of obscenity. "If you take the priest aside and inquire, he will reveal the meaning and you will find that they are unimaginably obscene.” Stalin is heard telling the marriage attendees.

AIADMK’s mouthpiece Namadhu Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, in a write-up titled Arrogant Speech, alongside a caricature of Stalin, wondered why Hindu beliefs should be derided. The ruling party said such “derision” stemmed from a “miscalculation that minority community people will vote for them and it is an attempt to divide people on religious lines”.

Quoting verses of renowned Tamil poet and freedom fighter ‘Namakkal Kavignar’ V Ramalingam Pillai that thoughtless barbs will only harbour hate, the AIADMK advocated vigil against it.

Rejecting claims that Stalin’s speech was offensive, a DMK spokesperson told PTI that marriages sans ceremonies have all along been the cornerstone of the party’s ideology. “It is a two-year-old video clip and it has now been released seeking to gain political mileage by right wing supporters,” he said, and added that the video features only a portion of his speech.