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Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nainar Nagenthran on Tuesday demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible for installing a Lord Vinayagar idol sculpted in the likeness of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay in Chennais Korukkupettai, alleging that a sacred religious festival was being degraded for political self-promotion.
Taking to social media platform X, the senior BJP leader strongly condemned the depiction of the deity, asserting that sculpting a revered religious form into the image of a political leader severely undermines spiritual traditions and insults the sentiments of millions of devotees. "Arrest those who insulted the Vinayagar statue! In the Korukkupettai area of Chennai, ahead of Vinayagar Chaturthi, they have strongly condemned the depiction of Lord Vinayagar, the foremost deity, in the likeness of Chief Minister Mr Vijay. Transforming the divine form revered and worshipped by millions of devotees in this mannerfor personal glorification and political advertisementis an act deserving the strongest condemnation. It cheapens the spiritual sentiments of the people," Nagenthran wrote. Accusing the TVK leadership of tacitly allowing party workers to use religious festivities as an election campaign tool, Nagenthran questioned the silence of Vijay over such incidents. "By turning a sacred festival into a platform for political self-interest and degrading divine worship into an election campaign, the silence maintained by Chief Minister Mr Joseph Vijay from the very beginning on those who commit such acts is the reason these boundary-crossing actions continue," the BJP leader alleged. Demanding swift administrative and legal intervention, Nagenthran called on authorities to remove the controversial idol immediately and book the organisers. "Therefore, I strongly urge and demand that the TVK government immediately remove such statues placed in a manner that disrupts people's religious sentiments and worship traditions. Appropriate legal action must be taken against the misguided administrators who used divine images for their self-promotion, and they must be arrested," he added. (ANI)
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