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The Madurai police on June 30 registered a case against the organisers of the Murugan Bakthargal Manaadu for promoting enmity between religious groups. The FIR has been filed against Kadeshwara Subramaniam of the Hindu Munnani, Hindu Munnani secretary Muthukumar, Bakthan, RSS south zone president Vanniyarajan, BJP leader Annamalai, Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagendran, and Sivarai Aathinam Kumarakurupa Samy.
The case was registered based on a complaint filed by Vanjinathan of the Madurai Madha Nallinakka Makkal Kootamaipu, a Madurai-based secular organisation.
The accused have been booked under sections 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity), 299 (intent to outrage religious feelings), 302 (uttering words to hurt religious feelings), 353(1)(b) (intent to cause alarm), and 353(1)(b) (circulating false information to promote divisions) of the Bharat Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The case has been registered at the Anna Nagar police station in Madurai city.
On June 22, a massive conference of Murugan devotees was held under the banner of Murugan Bakthargal Manaadu, with lakhs of participants. The conference marked the culmination of several months of agitations by the Hindu Munnani and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanding complete control over Thirupparankundram Hill in Madurai, which they describe as the “Ayodhya struggle of the south”. The hill is also home to a centuries-old Sufi shrine and a mosque.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan was the special guest for the event.
While the state government had initially denied permission for the event, citing potential law and order concerns, the organisers approached the High Court by giving an undertaking that there would be no political speeches during the conference.
However, BJP leader Annamalai made a veiled reference to the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) during the event. He claimed that the success of the conference demonstrated that the people had chosen “Swami” over “Nidhi”. The remarks were interpreted as a reference to Edappadi Palaniswami, leader of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)—a key BJP ally—and to Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Although the AIADMK had not officially endorsed the event, four former ministers from the party — Sellur K Raju, V V Rajan Chellappa, Kadambur C Raju, and K T Rajenthra Balaji — attended the conference.
The event became further controversial after a video shown at the gathering referred to Dravidian icons such as Periyar and Annadurai as “atheist jackals”. The AIADMK’s participation in the event, despite the derogatory remarks against its founding ideologues, drew sharp criticism from the DMK.
In response, the AIADMK distanced itself from the event, stating that its leaders had attended under the impression that it was an apolitical, spiritual gathering.
“We believed the event would be a spiritual and cultural celebration, not a political platform to attack ideologies or leaders,” said AIADMK leader RB Udhayakumar.
“We attended out of respect for religious harmony and differing views,” he added, invoking former Chief Minister Annadurai’s words: “Even the flowers in the neighbour’s garden have fragrance.”