Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) leader Seeman has stirred controversy with a bold promise — if his party wins power, all tombs and memorials built on Tamil Nadu’s beaches will be removed.
Speaking at a public meeting in Ulundurpettai, Seeman pledged that removing tombs along the coastline would be the first order of business for his party once they assume power.
He argued that many beaches — especially in coastal zones — have been turned into sites for memorials by political parties, a move he describes as an “appropriation” of public coastal land that belongs to fisherfolk and coastal communities.
Seeman reiterated his previous stance: coastal memorials — including the proposed sea-based “pen monument” — harm fishermen’s livelihoods, disrupt coastal ecology, and symbolize misuse of public spaces for political glorification.
The controversy is not new: in 2023, a proposal by the state government to erect a giant “pen monument” in the sea off Marina Beach in Chennai (in memory of late politician M. Karunanidhi) triggered widespread opposition — particularly from NTK and local fishermen groups.
Critics argued that building permanent monuments in ecologically sensitive coastal regulation zones (CRZ) could damage marine life and obstruct fishing activities.
At the time, during a heated public hearing, Seeman warned — “If you build it (the monument), I will break it.” The hearing ended in chaos as pro- and anti-monument groups clashed.