Actress and BJP member Namitha alleges Madurai temple of discrimination, says she was asked to prove religion

Namitha Vankawala

Actress and BJP state executive member Namitha Vankawala on Monday accused Meenakshi Amman temple staffers of mistreating her. She, along with her husband Veerendra Chowdhary recently visited the famous temple in Madurai. However, they faced an unpleasant situation which involved authorities questioning their faith and asking them proof for the same.

Namitha expressed her frustration through a social media post stating that she and her husband had been questioned about their religion despite identifying themselves as Hindus. In her post, she alleged that a temple official came up to her and asked if she were a Hindu. They also asked her to show proof for the same.

Namitha further said that she and her husband are Hindus by birth and said that they have been to various temples across the country but have never been questioned about their faith.

"I've been to many temples, including Tirupati in south India, and never faced such a question. It is unclear why the Meenakshi Amman Temple authorities alone would request proof of religion," she added.

"This being the case they spoke rudely and arrogantly and demanded a certificate to prove my caste and my faith," she said.

A senior official at the temple denied the allegations and said they stopped Namitha and her husband who were wearing masks to enquire if they were Hindus and explained the tradition at the temple.

"After the clarification from them, she was anointed with kumkum on her forehead and taken inside the temple for a darshan of Goddess Meenakshi," he said.

When asked about this, the actress replied that she was allowed for darshan only after clarification of her faith and applying kumkum on her forehead.

She said her visit to Madurai was spiritual and she had come to celebrate Krishna Janmashtami at ISKCON.

"There's a way of asking. I was made to wait for 20 minutes in a corner. We had informed the police about our visit on Sunday," she said.

The actress said she wore a mask as she did not want to disturb devotees who might recognise her.

In a video she shared on social media, Namitha can be seen urging Hindu religious and charitable endowments minister P K Sekarbabu to take appropriate action.

According to a report in TOI, a senior HR and CE official said that the request for religious identification was a routine procedure. "We ask for details as part of our standard security protocol, especially from individuals wearing face masks. Namitha was wearing a mask, and we followed the rules without realizing she was an actress," the official said.

The temple will be issuing an official statement regarding the matter, the official further revealed.