Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagenthran begins fast ahead of Lord Muruga devotees' conference
Chennai: Tamil Nadu unit Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nainar Nagenthran on Monday commenced a week-long fast seeking divine blessings for the upcoming Lord Muruga Devotees' Conference in Madurai, and to press for six key prayers aimed at the state's welfare.
The conference, organised by Muruga devotees from across Tamil Nadu, is set to take place on June 22, coinciding with the auspicious Krithikai day.
The event is expected to draw thousands of devotees and religious leaders from across the state.
Speaking to the media before beginning his fast, Nainar Nagenthran made a fervent appeal to Lord Muruga, announcing that he would observe the fast from June 16 to June 22, invoking divine support for both the conference's success and broader well-being of Tamil Nadu.
'I humbly place six heartfelt prayers at the feet of Lord Muruga and urge all devotees to join me in seeking his blessings for our state,' Nagenthran said, adding that the tradition of fasting and supplication is deeply rooted in Tamil culture and spiritual practice.
Outlining his prayer focussing on six key points, the BJP leader emphasised the following which include preservation of Tamil language, culture, and temples.
Realisation of a prosperous Tamil Nadu aligned with a developed India by 2047, Safety, dignity, and empowerment of women, Creation of a drug-free Tamil Nadu, Promotion of social harmony and protection of backward communities, and Strengthening rural infrastructure and advancing agricultural development.
He called on devotees to offer their prayers to Lord Muruga -- revered as the King of Kurinji and the bearer of the Vel -- for these noble causes.
'With the divine guidance of Lord Kandan, our state can progress toward peace, unity, and prosperity,' he said.
The fast and the upcoming conference are seen as efforts by the BJP to deepen its spiritual and cultural outreach in Tamil Nadu, where Muruga worship holds immense cultural significance.
Nagenthran's initiative blends faith with a vision for holistic development, aiming to bring together spirituality and socio-political commitment in the run-up to the high-profile religious gathering.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
14 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Congress says open to alliance in UP but also focused on rebuilding its strength on ground
Congress is in the middle of a month-long organisation-building campaign across all 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh (UP) to strengthen its grassroots presence, and the party is hopeful of striking a 'respectful and suitable' alliance to take on the BJP in the 2027 assembly polls. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress-Samajwadi Party alliance delivered a strong performance—the Congress winning six of the 17 seats it contested and the SP bagging 37 seats—reducing the BJP's tally from 62 to 33 in UP, the most populous state in the country. Perhaps that is why Congress general secretary and Uttar Pradesh in-charge Avinash Pande told PTI that while the party is focused on rebuilding its grassroots presence across the state, it would, in all likelihood, look to enter into a 'respectable and suitable alliance' under the INDIA bloc to take on the BJP in the next round of elections.' For the moment, however, Mr. Pande said, the party in the middle of "Sangathan Srijan" (organisation building) campaign across all 75 districts in UP is also gearing up for the panchayat polls, which would be held in 2026, a year ahead of the 2027 polls. Mr. Pande, who is on a seven-day tour of the state, meeting district-level leaders and workers to assess progress and energise the cadre, said a 100-day programme has been launched to drive the effort, with trained professionals overseeing implementation as the Congress is eyeing the panchayat polls to increase its rural penetration in UP. In the 2022 state polls, the two parties had contested separately. While SP improved its count from 47 to 111 seats, Congress was reduced to just two. "Talking about the alliance, the INDIA bloc is very much in existence, but as you know, an alliance of the regional parties and us (Congress) as a national party came together to give a strong opposition to the BJP. So, we are strengthening our organisation and because of that we will come together as a strong alliance," Mr. Pande told PTI. "We are trying to build our party stronger so that in case if we have a respectable and suitable alliance at the time of elections to defeat the BJP, then we should be in a good position to give a befitting result," he added. On the rise of regional parties like the SP and BSP and the BJP's current dominance, Pande said, 'I must tell you that regional parties came much, much later than the Congress, which was giving good governance to the people in Uttar Pradesh right from the freedom and after the formation of the state." "At present, we are focused on organisation rebuilding of the party in Uttar Pradesh, not just for contesting the elections alone but also doing a lot of other works which are directly related to the cause of the people and the welfare of the state." Mr. Pande also hit out at the BJP government, accusing it of autocratic functioning and sidelining the democratic role of the opposition. 'One thing that everybody can see is that the government is biased and trying to violate the Constitution by taking autocratic decisions. You can see all the decisions are being taken by suppressing the opposition, which is not being accorded due respect,' he said. He added, 'Obviously it is the government which is responsible to carry people's liking and welfare. They should take care of people's welfare—whether it is for infrastructure, education, employment or inflation. Congress is performing its responsibility as Opposition with full ability and best intentions.' On the organisational front, the senior Congress leader said the party's "Sangathan Srijan" campaign aims to rebuild its structure at five levels—state, district, block, mandal, and booth—following a resolution passed at the AICC plenary session. 'This is being undertaken in a phased manner under the leadership of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee and the guidance of the party's central leadership,' he said. On Congress' relevance in UP today, Mr. Pande said, 'I must tell you that Congress is the country's oldest party which played a role in the freedom struggle. It has always been very relevant and ideologically very close to the psyche of the common Indian,' he added. 'The Congress in UP is trying to restructure itself from the state level to the booth level,' he added. 'There is a visible sense of enthusiasm among the party workers, and I am confident Congress will perform well in the 2026 panchayat elections, the 2027 assembly elections, and the 2029 general elections. We aim to regain public trust and serve the people of Uttar Pradesh in line with their expectations,' he said.
The Print
an hour ago
- The Print
India deserves better than M-O-D-I: Misinformation, Opacity, Distractions, Incompetence
Whether disseminating fake figures, brushing off aviation calamities with words like 'nobody can stop accidents' – as home minister Amit Shah put it after the AI 171 crash – the only thing the Modi government can celebrate after 11 years is how successfully it has mastered the art of refusing to tell the truth. And thereby escape all accountability and responsibility. Just days earlier, in another shocking tragedy, four were killed and several injured after falling from two local trains in Mumbra in Maharashtra. Around the same time, a BBC News Hindi report found that as many as 82 people died in stampedes at the Kumbh Mela earlier this year, against the official figure of 37. Weeks earlier, it had emerged through the government's own Civil Registration System (CRS) data that official Covid-19 death figures were wrong, and that the actual death toll was at least six times higher . The highest falsification of these figures was in Gujarat, where the Covid mortality rate was 33 times the earlier stated deaths. In the week when the Bharatiya Janata Party launched a familiar drumbeat to celebrate 11 years in power, the worst aviation tragedy in recent years occurred in Ahmedabad in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat. Over 270 were killed. The country was plunged into grief, outrage, anger, and mourning. The Modi government does not honour our national motto – Satyamev Jayate (Truth alone must triumph). And here's how I came to that conclusion. Negligent, unaccountable system Under high voltage advertising and boastful self-promotion, the government is plagued by the M-O-D-I syndrome—Misinformation, Opacity, Distractions, and Incompetence. After 11 years of M-O-D-I, there is nothing to celebrate. The government's constant drive for headline management, its pursuit of hype, its industrial-scale disinformation campaigns carried forward by its media and social media armies, and its wall-to-wall projection of Modi as a superhero, are obsessive, fantastical, and delusional. This frenzied focus on media management and self-aggrandisement has infused a recklessness and shoddiness in all governance systems and institutions. Narendra Modi plays a T-20 version of politics, forever on the lookout for stage event-managed spectacles and well-rehearsed theatrics that grab eyeballs and TV viewership. When the top leader is a media showman focused on photo-ops, the system down the line becomes negligent and unaccountable and is not incentivised to carry out due diligence at any level or pay attention to detail. The railway ministry seems only focused on media images of the PM flagging off Vande Bharat trains, less concerned with safety and the grim toll of rail accidents that seems to be rising every day. About 244 consequential rail accidents took place between 2017 and 2022. On 12 June – the very same day of the catastrophic Ahmedabad plane crash – a train running from Delhi to Ghaziabad derailed near Shivaji Bridge station, with its fourth coach falling off the tracks. The Modi government keeps trumpeting the opening of new airports, yet hundreds of posts in the civil aviation sector lie vacant, depriving crucial areas of aviation of adequately trained staff. Earlier this year, Parliament was told that staffing shortages are particularly acute at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), with nearly 48 per cent of its positions currently vacant. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) and the Airports Authority of India (AAI) are also operating with 37 per cent vacancies, according to official data. According to data shared by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in the Lok Sabha, 814 out of the 1,692 approved posts at the DGCA are vacant. Once again, M-O-D-I strikes. Despite glitzy airport openings and the media orchestra tom-tomming about privatisation, the civil aviation sector, in reality, is infected with a misinformation, obfuscation, distraction, and incompetence syndrome. Also read: India's decade of vulnerability needs political unity, not freebies Dangers of performative politics The Modi-led government has not told citizens the truth about Covid-related deaths, nor told citizens the truth about fatalities at Kumbh Mela stampedes. Even during Operation Sindoor in May, the government displayed a tendency toward wilful misinformation mixed with deliberate opacity on the gains and losses that India experienced during the conflict with Pakistan. The constant inclination is not to inform but to mislead, not to educate but to incite, not to enlighten but to confuse. Modi practices politics like performative art, constantly creating dramas that further polarise society, while the television media plays out its own circus where anchors play the role of ringmasters of lies. Bombast and bluster are unleashed 24×7 to supply online armies and their generals with ammunition to attack critics and dissenters. The Opposition is denigrated repeatedly, but an aura of invincibility is created around a prime minister, always photographed from the most flattering angles possible. When top leaders practice performative politics, when those at the very top do not hesitate to tell lies, this culture of M-O-D-I percolates from the top down to the lowest rungs. Preoccupied with only communicating deliriously fantastical images of Viksit Bharat, and stubbornly refusing to tell the truth, glitzy fakery is in danger of becoming the default mode of this government. The only achievement that this government can 'celebrate' after 11 years is the unequalled ability to market itself through a captive, irresponsible media and showcase its talent at artful headline management. In 2016, the Modi government bellowed about demonetisation as a 'master-stroke' against black money. But eight years later, there is every indication that cash is back in the system. There has been no systematic audit on demonetisation's gains and losses. Parliament has still not been told in detail what impact the Covid-related lockdown had on employment and the informal sector, or how many Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were forced to shut down. Six years after the ghastly attack in Pulwama in 2019, citizens still don't know who has been held accountable for the deaths of 40 jawans of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). There is no reliable information available on the cases the Enforcement Directorate is pursuing, beyond that many of them are against the Opposition. But given that most ED cases do not lead to convictions, who in the ED is accountable for what prima facie is a vendetta-cum-washing machine campaign against the Opposition? In times when the ravages of climate change are sweeping across the planet, the prime minister keeps announcing ambitious climate targets at international conferences. But why has Parliament, and the people, still not been properly informed on what steps are being taken to protect the environment and push sustainability forward? The Modi government's campaigns, such as 'Ek ped maa ke naam (plant a tree in the name of your mother)', and claims that the scheme resulted in 80 crore seedlings planted, are hardly enough. Such programmes are like childish playthings, tinkering with names and nursery games instead of putting real, research-based policies in place or disseminating accurate information. Today, India's GDP numbers have been questioned because of a fog of disinformation on the economy, the latest being the media-hyped headline that India's economy had overtaken Japan's. A more sober assessment would be to also admit that Japan has a per capita income of $33,900 while India's per capita income is a pitiful $2,880. India ranks 143rd in the world in terms of per capita income, while Japan ranks 34th. And it ranks 105th out of 127 in the 2024 Global Hunger Index. No logical explanation either has been given as to why the decennial Census (now slated for 2026) was delayed for six years. The Modi government was economical with the truth on the Pahalgam terror attack, when the home minister told an all-party meeting that the Baisaran meadow had been opened to tourists without police permission. But it was later revealed that no police permission has ever been needed for Baisaran, and the place is a highly popular tourist spot. There is still a mystery over India's declining relations with Canada. What has been the Indian government's investigative response to allegations regarding the murder of Canadian Khalistan supporter Hardeep Singh Nijjar? Has India's deep state been engaged in hiring trans-national gangs for extra-judicial 'encounters' that have ruptured foreign relations with 'friendly' Western democracies? We still don't know. Also read: Modi vs non-BJP CMs: When most popular isn't all-powerful & why Centre-state ties will worsen Ask no questions To every question, the answer is the same: ask no questions. If you do ask questions, you'll be dubbed an anti-national by online bullies and the government's vast army of cheerleaders and 'influencers.' But the simple yet glaring fact is that the Modi government does not tell the truth. It is a hype machine that wants to rule by diktat and arrogantly conveys that it has no respect for the public's right to know. Interestingly, in a press conference held to mark 11 years of the Modi government, it was BJP President JP Nadda who came out to answer questions. Why? Why should the BJP chief answer on behalf of the government? Why should the prime minister or chief executive not take questions from the media? Are we then surprised that we rank 151/180 in the world press freedom index? There is a disdainful, shallow and narcissistic condescension in the way Modi turns his back on answering questions either in public or in a press conference. Modi loves acronyms. But M-O-D-I should become a descriptive term for a non-functional and inefficient government, a government which, for 11 years, has been a regime of Misinformation, Opacity, Distractions, and Incompetence. Sagarika Ghose is a Rajya Sabha MP, All India Trinamool Congress. She tweets @sagarikaghose. Views are personal. (Edited by Zoya Bhatti)
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Murugan meet will protect Tamil culture; won't disturb peace, says Puducherry Home Minister
MADURAI: Puducherry Home Minister A Namassivayam said that the Murugan Maanadu will not disturb the public peace, and it aims at securing the Tamil culture. Speaking to the media at Madurai after inaugurating the spiritual exhibition replicating Lord Murugan's six abodes (Arupadai Veedu) that has been set up near the Vandiyur tollgate in Madurai, he said, 'Just like how the state government organised a Murugan Maanadu in Palani, this event will be organised in Madurai city. It will not cause disharmony and disturb peace. The event aims at seeking protection of the Tamil culture.' He added, 'BJP state president Nainar Nagenthran had publicly declared that time was not allotted to us to meet CM M K Stalin and invite him to the event. If given time, we will invite the CM as well. We have already invited AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, NTK chief coordinator Seeman, actor Rajinikanth, and PMK leader Anbumani Ramdoss to the event.' 'Devotees of Lord Murugan believe, wherever the abode of lord is located, it belongs to Murugan. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has deep faith in Hindu religious ideals. He wished for the success of this conference and urged everyone to participate,' he said.
