Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi founder and Chidambaram MP Thol. Thirumvalavan, on Friday placed around seven demands to the Tamil Nadu State government including the demand that a Dalit and a woman must be appointed trustees in 43,283 temples administrated by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department in Tamil Nadu, ensure that people from all castes are allowed to offer prayers in temples without exceptions, and that the priest should face legal action and expulsion if ‘prasadam’ and ‘teertham’ are not provided to members of all castes.
He also demanded that temples under the HR&CE administration must be publicised as such and urged the department to submit a report to the Chief Minister over whether equality is followed in temples.
Speaking at the protest against the State government’s decision to lock and seal the Sri Dharmaraja Droupathi Amman temple in Melpathi in Villupuram, in which people belonging to Scheduled Caste community were not allowed to enter, Mr. Thirumavalavan said that the police were complicating social issues and spoke about an issue in a temple festival in Thirumohur in which a Dalit youth apparently questioned the activities of a non-Dalit youth under the influence of alcohol.
