A criminal case was registered late Monday against Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan, former Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai, and key organisers of the Lord Murugan Devotees Conference held in Madurai on June 22.
The case, filed at the E3 Annanagar Police Station, cites violations of the Madras High Court’s restrictions on political and religious rhetoric during the high-profile spiritual event.
According to the Madurai police, the complaint was filed by S Vanjinathan, an advocate and coordinator of the Madurai People’s Federation for Communal Harmony. He alleged that the speeches and resolutions presented at the event incited communal hostility and violated conditions laid down by the Madras High Court, which had permitted the event with strict limits on religious and political messaging.
The case — Crime No 497/2025 — was registered under sections 196(1)(a), 299, 302, and 353(1)(b)(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The named accused include Kadeshwara Subramaniam, president of the Hindu Munnani, S Muthukumar, its state secretary, Pawan Kalyan, Annamalai, and unidentified organising members of the RSS, BJP, Hindu Munnani, and allied Sangh Parivar groups.
Police sources said the content of speeches and electronic communications during the event included language that “promoted enmity between groups based on religion, race, and region” and “outraged the religious feelings” of other communities. The FIR also alleges that public remarks and actions at the venue were “intended to provoke disharmony under the guise of spiritual assembly.”
Held amid much fanfare on a stage flanked by replicas of the six sacred abodes (Arupadai Veedu) of Lord Murugan, the event had seen a massive turnout, with Hindu Munnani claiming over one lakh devotees in attendance. Though the Madras High Court had explicitly barred political content at the conference, several speakers, including Pawan Kalyan, made political remarks wrapped in a spiritual narrative.
Dressed in a green veshti traditionally worn by Murugan devotees, Pawan Kalyan took direct aim at what he termed “fake secularists” and atheists. “Secularism has become a shield for some to denigrate Hindu gods,” he said. “I respect Christianity and Islam, but don’t disrespect Hindu Dharma.”
He called Pasumpon Muthuramalinga Thevar an “incarnation of Lord Murugan” and criticised political leaders for questioning why a Murugan conference was held in Tamil Nadu.
The conference also passed six resolutions, including one urging Hindus to vote en bloc in the upcoming Assembly elections, and another demanding the DMK government stop “treating temples as revenue sources.”
Former BJP state chief Annamalai, also named in the FIR, declared that the conference’s success showed that “people have chosen ‘Swami’ over ‘Nidhi’ — a veiled jab at political rivals.
Although the BJP’s ally, AIADMK, officially remained silent on the event, four of its senior leaders, including R B Udhayakumar and Sellur K Raju, attended the conference.
