Congress believes in treating all religions equally, says K.S. Alagiri

TNCC president K.S. Alagiri urges Congress to explain stance on religion & reform; Mahatma Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi wanted to bring Dalits into mainstream; Vaidyanatha Iyer faced opposition for entering temple; Kamarajar appointed Dalit as Minister of Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments; Alagiri urges Congress cadres to hoist flags; MP K. Jayakumar urges booth committees to meet people weekly.

Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K.S. Alagiri on Sunday reiterated the “importance of criticism” against Sanatana Dharma and reform of certain superstitious practices and urged the party office-bearers to explain its stance with respect to religion and religious reform to the people.

At a meeting of the TNCC Tiruvallur district office-bearers and booth committee members in Vanagaram, he said both Mahatma Gandhi and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wanted to bring Dalits, “who are kept outside of four Varnas as per Varnashrama Dharma”, into the mainstream of society.

“Congress believes in God. But it believes in treating all religions equally. We are not against the Hindu religion. I am saying what Gandhiji said: we are all Hindus, but we want a reformed Hinduism. A 100 years ago, Vaidyanatha Iyer went inside Madurai Meenakshi Amman temple and faced so much opposition. Society opposed him, but he stood firm. Later, the Congress government in Tamil Nadu under the then Chief Minister Kamarajar appointed a Dalit as Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments. We need to speak about these things. Mahatma Gandhi was the best propagandist in the world in those days,” he said.

Mr. Alagiri felt a ‘war similar in scale to that of the Mahabarata’ was about to unfold in 2024 (Lok Sabha election), but those against them would go to any lengths to win. He urged every Congress cadre to hoist the party’s flag in front of the house, which would inspire other cadre to do the same. 

K. Jayakumar, Congress MP from Tiruvallur constituency, said no party could be successful in elections without booth committees. “I have faced setbacks in elections because of a lack of booth committees for the party. This is the foundation. We have to learn some lessons from others. After I became an MP in 2019, I saw how the DMK planned meticulously to get every single vote in Thiruparakundram byelections. It was an eye opener for me. The TNCC has never worked like that. We should also work similarly. The booth committee members have to meet people at least once a week, and I appeal to the Congress members to hoist party flags outside their houses,” he said.