VHP demands Minister Ponmudy's ouster, to protest against his derogatory remarks

Chennai, Apr 12 (PTI) Vishwa Hindu Parishad North Tamil Nadu on Saturday sought the immediate removal of Tamil Nadu Minister K Ponmudy from the Stalin Cabinet for his derogatory remarks on Shaivism and Vaishnavism 'symbols,' and said the organisation would hold a statewide protest in support of this demand on April 15.

Condemning the "vulgar" speech of Ponmudy, VHP North TN state president Andal P Chockalingam said while speaking at a DMK event on April 6, the Minister used cheap and vulgar words to demean Hindu symbols, which cannot be tolerated by any civil society.

"Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin should take note of it seriously and if he stands by the secularism that he preaches, he should remove Ponmudy from Minister's post immediately," Chockalingam said.

Ponmudy should not be allowed to continue as a minister and stripping him of the deputy general secretary post in the DMK was only an "eye-wash", Chockalingam said in a statement here.

Though the VHP has ideological differences with the ruling DMK it still wanted the Chief Minister and his office to be above any disrespect and Ponmudi's speech was a direct personal attack on the esteem of the CM office and his household, the VHP leader claimed.

"VHP North TN will take this issue across the nation and expose the DMK's pseudo-secularism and how the continuation of this DMK government is an insult to the Hindus," Chockalingam claimed. PTI JSP ROH