Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple incident: ‘Sister Namitha, don’t worry; dept will express regret,’ TN minister says

CHENNAI: Hindu religious and charitable endowments minister P K Sekarbabu on Tuesday said his department would express regret to actress Namitha for the alleged mistreatment that she faced in Madurai Meenakshi Amman Temple on Monday.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai, the minister said the HR and CE commissioner had ordered investigations into the incident.Action would be taken if there was any violation of rules, he added.
"Sister Namitha, don’t worry. The department will express regret," Sekarbabu said.
When Namitha visited the Meenakshi Amman temple on Monday, HR and CE officials stopped her and questioned about her religion. Namitha raised the issue alleging that she had been mistreated in the temple.
Sekarbabu said the officials had stopped her based on a previous incident in Palani Murugan Temple and suspected that Namitha could have been a Muslim.
Asked about the criticism of DMK allies that higher education in TN was getting saffronised, Sekarbabu replied that courses on religion were taught only in colleges affiliated to the HR and CE department. “The temples are run on the funds given by devotees, and these subjects are taught only to interested students,” he said.