Sabarimala 'guarantee' in Kerala, 'Deepam' promise in TN: PM Modi's southward poll push focuses on temple rows

PRime government minister Narendra Modi on fri made a swelled southward crowd in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, commenting on temple-related controversies in both states to assail the ruling parties.In Tamil Nadu, Modi raised the Karthigai Deepam issue, accusing the ruling DMK of “indulging in vote bank politics”. “Our leaders stood for the right of the devotees, but the DMK left no stone unturned in indulging in vote bank politics,” he said in the rally in Chengalpattu.Modi referred to the DMK as ‘CMC’, saying that chief minister MK Stalin's party was "Corruption, Mafia and Crime". He accused the DMK of breaking the people's trust."You gave DMK a full majority twice, but they broke the trust of the people of Tamil Nadu. DMK made heaps of promises but delivered zero work. People are now calling the DMK government the ‘CMC’ government. CMC here means a government that promotes 'Corruption, Mafia, and Crime'," PM Modi said.“The people of Tamil Nadu have now made up their minds to uproot both DMK and this CMC. Here, a BJP-NDA double-engine government is certain to come to power,” he added.The Sabarimala gold row promiseIn an earlier rally in Kerala, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a big promise to the state's people: if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) comes to power after the upcoming state elections, the Sabarimala gold loss will be investigated, and the culprits will be jailed. “This is Modi's guarantee,” the Prime Minister said.He made the remarks in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, where he launched various developmental projects and flagged off new train services."The entire country, all of us, have unwavering faith in Lord Ayyappa. However, the LDF government has left no stone unturned in damaging the traditions of the Sabarimala Temple. Now, reports of gold theft are emerging from here. Reports of gold being stolen from the temple, from right next to the Lord. I want to make one thing clear: the moment a BJP government is formed here, a thorough investigation into these allegations will take place, and the culprits will have their place in jail," said Modi, as quoted by news agency ANI.What are the two temple rows in South India?The row in Kerala is over the Sabarimala gold theft case, which has snowballed into a political storm. The case, which pertains to the alleged misappropriation of gold from the door frames of the sanctum and the plates covering the dwarapalaka (guardian idols) of the temple, is currently under investigation by a special investigation team (SIT) of the Kerala police on the orders of the state high court.As for the Karthigai Deepam issue in Tamil Nadu, it concerns a row over lighting a sacred lamp atop the Thirupparankundram hill, home to the historic Subramaniya Swamy Temple, the Kasi Viswanathar Temple, and the Sikkander Badusha Dargah, built long after the temples were established.For many years, the Thiruparankundram hill has been seen as a place where different faiths have lived in peace. An activist filed a petition late last month, and the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court instructed that the petitioner and ten others be allowed to reach the Deepam pillar at the top of the hill to light the Karthigai Deepam.Government officials believed this violated the long-standing practice of lighting the lamp at the nearby Deepa Mandapam, a ritual carried out for several years. The state government chose to challenge the court order, raising concerns over law and order, as mentioned in an earlier HT report.Tensions at the location also rose in February after protests by Hindu organisations when a member of parliament was accused of eating meat on the hill. The BJP has described Thiruparankundram as the “Ayodhya of the South”.The Subramaniya Swamy Temple claims ownership of almost the entire hill under a 1920 court ruling, while the dargah has recognised rights over the mosque and related structures.