Actor Suriya on Tuesday finally broke his silence on the ongoing controversy surrounding his wife Jyothika's statement on the need for people to donate to schools and hospitals as much as they donate to temples, saying they firmly stand by Jyothika's statement. Jyothika's statement, which was delivered as part of her speech at an awards function, had irked several right-wing activists.

In a statement issued in Tamil just minutes ago, actor Suriya said, "The adage that even if the tree chooses to remain silent, the wind that blows over it will not allow it to remain so is particularly true of debates on social media. What Jyothika spoke at an Awards function that was held a long time back has now turned into news in the media and a debate on social media."

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"Some people look at Jyothika's emphasis on the need to think highly of schools and hospitals just like how we think highly of temples as a crime. The very same idea has been put forth by spiritual leaders like Swami Vivekananda. The idea that helping people amounts to making an offering to God was prevalent here even during the period of Thirumoolar. It is not fair to expect those who have not read the thoughts of good people or haven't lent an ear to their preachings to know about such facts.

"Everybody, cutting across religions, seem to welcome the thought that schools and hospitals must be considered as places where God prevails. The overwhelming support that we have got even at a time like this when normal life has been thrown out of gear because of the Coronavirus, gives us hope and happiness."

# #SpreadLove pic.twitter.com/qjOlh8tHtV

— Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) April 28, 2020

"We stand firm on this opinion that was made based on the ideas and thoughts of learned people and spiritual leaders. We intend to teach our children that humanism is more important than religion."

"Every time, some of those with malafide intentions look to defame us, good people, friends and fans have stood by our side. Several people whose faces we do not know have risen up to our defence and delivered replies on our behalf. The media has handled this issue in the right manner. All of these give hope that we can harvest good deeds by sowing good thoughts. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all those who have stood by us."