33 of 39 Keezhadi excavations in AIADMK regime, DMK doing sticker politics: Ex-minister

CHENNAI: Former AIADMK minister K Pandiarajan on Friday accused the MK Stalin-led DMK government of politicising the Keezhadi excavations, asserting it was the AIADMK regime, under the leadership of Edappadi K Palaniswami, that had actually undertaken the excavation work.

He strongly criticised Stalin's government, claiming it was attempting to take credit for efforts initiated by the previous AIADMK administration in relation to the Keezhadi site. He described the move as "an epitome of sticker politics."

"Of the 39 excavations carried out in the state, 33 were conducted during the AIADMK regime. Moreover, the DMK government has not spent a penny on the Keezhadi excavations, yet they are trying to claim credit for our work," the former minister for Tamil Official Language, Tamil Culture and Archaeology told journalists at the party headquarters. The presser was aimed at countering the DMK's continuous onslaught on AIADMK leaders over the issue.

"When I was heading the ministry, he gave me full freedom. Now, he has asked me to respond to the issue," said Pandiyarajan, defending Palaniswami's silence on what he called an emotive issue and politicised by the ruling party.

Pandiarajan further ridiculed minister TRB Rajaa and other DMK functionaries who staged a protest over the issue, questioning whether they had even glanced at the Keezhadi report before taking to the streets.

He further criticised the DMK IT wing and minister Rajaa for promoting a body-shaming meme using the hashtag 'Keezhadi Nam Thai Madi', aimed at Palaniswami. He clarified it was he who originally coined the phrase, which was used to popularise ancient artefacts from Keezhadi at the World Tamil Conference in Chicago in 2019.

Responding to a query on the Union government's direction to archaeologist K Amarnath Ramakrishna to resubmit the report on findings from the 2014–2016 excavation, Pandiarajan said no one is denying the existence of a rich and vibrant civilisation at Keezhadi. "We have a robust system of global standards for conducting excavations. Our findings have been backed by scientific evidence, including carbon dating. There's no doubt about that, " he said.

However, he defended the Union's position, explaining that the request was for greater precision in the chronology of the findings. The current report spans approximately 1,000 years, while authorities are seeking a narrower time frame, ideally within a 100-year range.

He noted that archaeologist Amarnath Ramakrishna had submitted the report two years ago and questioned the delay in its publication. Meanwhile, he admitted that archaeologist P S Sriraman, who replaced Ramakrishna, "did not show interest" in continuing the excavations at Keezhadi, calling it a matter of fact.

Stating that archaeology falls under the Concurrent List, Pandiarajan said the state government has the authority to publish the report, alluding that the TN government need not await approval from the Centre.

Turning to the DMK's record, he said the Karunanidhi-led regime spent a total of Rs 9 crore between 2006 and 2011 on the archaeological department. In contrast, the Palaniswami-led AIADMK government allocated an average of Rs 105 crore per year, including contributions from the Union government. "The DMK government did not spend a penny on Keezhadi excavations," he further said and claimed the credit should go to former CM Palaniswami.