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NT Bureau
Chennai, July 8:

        Hindu Munani organiser Rama Gopalan today criticised the Chief Minister's statement defending the women's rally taken out recently in support of the UPA nominee for the Presidential election.

        Rama Gopalan as termed 'most unfortunate' the Chief Minister's rebuttal against the write-up in a Tamil weekly that questioned the need for such a rally to support Pratibha Patel, the UPA nominee for the Presidential election. 'The Chief Minister had wantonly expressed his anti-Hindu and anti-God sentiments while defending the women's rally organised by the DMK in support of Pratibha Patel,' Gopalan said in a press release.

        Karunanidhi has compared the chariot festivals in Tiruvarur, Tiruchendur and Kapaleeswarar temples and questioned whether the public were not put to hardships with the abrupt halt of transport services. 'Chief Minister has thus given a caste dimension to the temple festivals and rallies which is most unfortunate,' he said.

        Unlike political rallies where crowds were mobilised through funds, chariot festivals in temples attract large number of devotees, including people from neighbouring towns and villages. Even schools declared holidays for chariot festivals and there were no caste feelings among those pulling the mammoth chariot, Gopalan pointed out.

        Instead of comparing DMK rallies with those organised by other parties, Karunanidhi had wrongly projected temple rallies and processions to defend his stand which was a retrograde step, he charged. If Karunanidhi could not distinguish between a political rally and a religious congregation, then the public themselves would teach him a fitting lesson, Rama Gopalan said.