The DMK’s student wing held a protest in Coimbatore on Monday condemning AIADMK leader Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s remarks on the use of temple funds for educational institutions. The demonstration, held at Tatabad in Coimbatore city, also criticised the BJP-led Union government’s education policies.

Led by student wing secretary R. Rajiv Gandhi, the protest saw participation from party MPs K. Prakash and Ganapathi P. Rajkumar, district secretaries, and office-bearers of the students’ wing.

Addressing the gathering, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi said Mr. Palaniswami had remained silent during his tenure as Chief Minister on issues such as NEET and the National Education Policy, and was now criticising the use of temple funds without understanding their purpose. He alleged that the BJP was scripting Mr. Palaniswami’s statements and accused him of aligning with RSS-backed narratives.

The protesters also criticised the withdrawal of scholarships that were earlier available to minority students under schemes named after A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Maulana Azad. They said the DMK government had stepped in to support the affected students.

Slogans were raised condemning Mr. Palaniswami and the Union government, with participants rejecting what they described as politically motivated narratives against the Dravidian model of governance.