Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments P.K. Sekarbabu on Monday said the HR&CE department was started to protect temples and devotees during the British rule. They were siphoning off the income and properties of the temples. “We plan to bring out a book detailing the story of the department,” he said.

Speaking to presspersons after inspecting work to build additional classrooms at the Arulmigu Ekambaranthan Matric HSS, he said Chief Minister M. K. Stalin will inaugurate this building and another one at Choolaimedu. Mr. Sekarbabu said that Mr. Stalin has told them not to mix religion and politics.

On the Muruga devotee conference held by Hindu Munnani in Madurai on Sunday, he said it was like a “one-day koothu”. The people of the State, he believed were very much with the ruling DMK as, according to him, they knew it was taking good care of temples. In the last four years the DMK government had performed kumbabhishekams of 117 temples dedicated to Lord Muruga at a cost of Rs. 1068 crore, he said.