Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), the ruling party of Tamil Nadu, has removed the state Forest Minister and senior leader K. Ponmudy from the post of the party’s Deputy General Secretary after a row erupted over his ‘vulgar’ remarks against Hindu Tilaks and Gods.
The DMK Leader made the alleged remarks at a party meeting. His comments are being perceived as offensive against the followers of Shaivism and Vaishnavism and have triggered backlash from the Opposition, civil society, the public, and even within his party.
According to news agency IANS, he made the remarks reportedly during a DMK workers’ meeting in Chennai within the past week, and a video of his speech went viral on social media.
In the video, Ponmudy used a sexually explicit analogy involving a prostitute and religious practices. He mockingly referred to sacred Hindu symbols, using ‘vulgar’ language to describe the Shaivite horizontal tilak and the Vaishnavite vertical tilak.
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DMK, BJP And Others React To K Ponmudy’s Remarks
In a post on social media platform X, DMK MP and party leader Kanimozhi Karunanidhi ‘condemned’ Ponmudy’s remarks and called it’s “unacceptable”.
In the post she wrote, “Minister Ponmudy’s recent speech is unacceptable. Regardless of the reason for the speech, such vulgar remarks are condemnable.”
அமைச்சர் பொன்முடி அவர்களின் சமீபத்திய பேச்சு ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள முடியாதது. எந்த காரணத்திற்காகப் பேசப் பட்டிருந்தாலும் இப்படிப்பட்ட கொச்சையான பேச்சுகள் கண்டிக்கத்தக்கது.
— Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) April 11, 2025
BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai in a post on X questions that are the youth of the state expected to ‘tolerate the filth’.
He said, “This is DMK’s standard of political discourse in Tamil Nadu. Thiru Ponmudy was once the Higher Education Minister of Tamil Nadu and now Minister for Forests and Khadi, and the youth of Tamil Nadu are expected to tolerate this filth?”
This is DMK’s standard of political discourse in Tamil Nadu. Thiru Ponmudi was once the Higher Education Minister of Tamil Nadu & now Minister for Forests and Khadi, and the youth of Tamil Nadu are expected to tolerate this filth? Not just this Minister, the entire DMK ecosystem… pic.twitter.com/ENMq47hiPf
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) April 11, 2025
Furthermore, another BJP leader Khushbu Sundar also commented on the matter and wrote in a post that the DMK leader has a ‘disgusting mindset’.
“Such a disgusting mindset he has and his words describe him better than what i can say. Will you ever have the guts to throw him out of his chair and position? Or you and your party find sadistic pleasures in insulting women and Hinduism in making such disgusting comments??” she wrote.
Mr @mkstalin avl, this is your Minister, an education minister for that. Such a disgusting mindset he has and his words describe him better than what i can say. Will you ever have the guts to throw him out of his chair and position? Or you and your party find sadistic pleasures… https://t.co/vqFMWpyXs0
— KhushbuSundar (@khushsundar) April 10, 2025
The singer and activist Chinmayi Sripada also took to X to criticise the remarks and said that the “joke is on us”.
“He describes a ‘joke’ because apparently there is a ‘market’ for these jokes in a public gathering, about a man…,” she wrote in the post.
“No wonder they are all hand in glove with molester poetttttu,” she added.
This is Minister of Forests, Mister Ponmudi from Tamilnadu. He previously held posts as a Minister for Science and Tech; and Education in Tamilnadu.
He describes a ‘joke’ because apparently there is a ‘market’ for these jokes in a public gathering, about a man who goes to a sex… https://t.co/Szy2YCINsF
— Chinmayi Sripaada (@Chinmayi) April 10, 2025
DMK’s New Deputy General Secretary
As per ANI, MP Trichy Siva was appointed as the Deputy General Secretary of the DMK.
(with agencies’ inputs)