Tamil Nadu Minister Ponmudy Uses Analogy Involving Sex Worker To Mock Shaivite-Vaishnavite, Faces Backlash

DMK Minister K Ponmudy has triggered a fresh controversy for making vulgar comments against Shaivite and Vaishnavite communities.

In a viral video, the minister is heard describing an analogy involving a sex worker to mock the religious practices of the two Hindu sects.

What The DMK Minister Said?

The DMK minister narrates an anecdote in which a sex worker asks a man whether he is a Shaivite or a Vaishnavite. He then claims she interprets Shaivite as a "lying down position" (referring to the horizontal tilak worn by Shaivites) and Vaishnavite as a "standing position" (referring to the vertical tilak worn by Vaishnavites). The most disgusting part of the story is that people in the crowd laugh over his comments. However, his vulgar remarks have drawn widespread condemnation online.

Outrage Over The Remarks

Criticising his comments, Amit Malviya, in charge of BJP's National Information & Technology Department wrote, "After Udhayanidhi Stalin's disgraceful attack on Sanatan Dharma, DMK Minister K. Ponmudy has now taken the baton of Hindu-bashing forward. At a public event, Ponmudy recounted a vulgar anecdote involving a prostitute and a man, where he mockingly reduced sacred Hindu symbols to crude sexual innuendos. Referring to the Shaivite horizontal tilak as "lying down position" and the Vaishnavite vertical tilak as "standing position," his remarks were not just offensive-they were deliberately insulting to the core beliefs of two major Hindu sects."

Malviya noted that Ponmudy had targeted Hindi speakers in Tamil Nadu, belittling them as panipuri sellers in 2020. The BJP leader added, "The pattern is clear. Whether it's DMK, Congress, TMC, or RJD-members of the I.N.D.I. Alliance seem united not by ideology, but by a shared disdain for Hindu beliefs and a relentless pursuit of minority appeasement. Their politics thrives on insult, provocation, and calculated disrespect toward the majority community."

After Udhayanidhi Stalin’s disgraceful attack on Sanatan Dharma, DMK Minister K. Ponmudy has now taken the baton of Hindu-bashing forward.

At a public event, Ponmudy recounted a vulgar anecdote involving a prostitute and a man, where he mockingly reduced sacred Hindu symbols to… pic.twitter.com/boB0ECWx0a

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) April 11, 2025

Chinmayi Condemns DMK Minister

Singer Chinmayi took to Twitter to register her displeasure over the remarks. She wrote, "This is Minister of Forests, Ponmudi from Tamil Nadu. He previously held posts as a Minister for Science and Technology and Education in Tamil Nadu. He describes a 'joke' because there is a 'market' for these jokes in a public gathering. This is a joke. The joke is on us."

Meanwhile, Ponmudy's own party member and DMK MP Kanimozhi has slammed the minister for the vulgar remarks. "The recent speech of minister Ponmudy is not acceptable." "For whatever reason he had spoken, such vulgar words are condemnable," she said in a post on 'X.'

Narayanan Thirupathy, Vice-President of the BJP's TN unit, has demanded his resignation over the remarks. "Minister Ponmudy continuing in his post is shameful.... CM Stalin, will you order Ponmudy's arrest," he said.