WEB DESK
The statue of Dravedian icon EVR Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, located inside the Tirupattur corporation office in Vellore was attacked and vandalised around 9 pm Tuesday. The glasses and nose of the statue were damaged. The police have arrested two men.
According to reports, the incident happened just hours after BJP leader H Raja threatened that statues of Dravidian icon and social reformer EVR Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, too would be pulled down – after a statue of Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was razed in Tripura – two men vandalised a Periyar statue at a municipal corporation office in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore.
The statue of Periyar, located inside the Tirupattur corporation office, was targeted around 9 pm. The glasses and nose of the statue were damaged.
The police have arrested two men. “One man is a BJP member and another a CPI worker, both drunk,” the police said.
Erode Venkata Ramasamy (17 September 1879 – 24 December 1973), commonly known as Periyar or Thanthai Periyar, was a social activist, and politician who started the Self-Respect Movement and Dravidar Kazhagam.
From his childhood, Periyar is known for his controversial comments on religious belief and on Brahmins. Being the son of a wealthy person, everyone was fond of him. He was dropped out from school at second grade due to his growing hyper activities. He witnessed numerous incidents of caste and gender discrimination .
It was in Tripura that the first incident of a statue being razed surfaced. After the BJP ended the 25-year-long rule of the Left in the northeastern state, two statues of Lenin were found demolished, allegedly by workers of the BJP.
BJP national secretary H Raja responded to the outrage that followed with a Facebook post this morning: “Who is Lenin and what is the connection between Lenin and India? What connection has India with Communists? Lenin’s statue has been removed in Tripura. Today it is Lenin’s statue in Tripura, tomorrow it will be the statue of caste fanatic EVR Ramasamy”.
I strongly condemn the way Anti Social Elements Which has vandalise The Social Reformist Shri EVR Periyar Statue. AT Tiruppattur. Vellore Dist. Yesterday Bring down Lenin's statue with a bulldozer. This is not the way people function in a democracy. Setting a wrong precedence. pic.twitter.com/9I7dswF2ds
— Dr J Aslam Basha (@JAslamBasha) March 6, 2018
“Today Lenin, tomorrow casteist Periyar”
In his post, Mr Raja referred to the uprooting of a statue of revolutionary communist leader Lenin in Tripura, where the BJP scored a massive victory in the Assembly elections, and said, “Today it is Lenin in Tripura, tomorrow in Tamil Nadu (it will be) casteist Periyar’s statue.” Later in the day, the post was taken down.
Mr. Raja’s comments drew strong reactions, with DMK working president and Leader of the Opposition M.K. Stalin demanding the BJP leader’s arrest under the Goondas Act for repeatedly seeking to incite violence. PMK founder S. Ramadoss and CPI(M) State secretary K. Balakrishnan too demanded his arrest, while MDMK founder Vaiko threatened to sever the hands of anyone who attempted to touch Periyar’s statue with evil intentions.
Mr. Stalin said nobody had the locus standi to even touch the statue of Periyar. “Mr. Raja has been expressing views aimed at inciting violence and he should be arrested under the Goondas Act,” he told reporters.
TNCC president Su. Thirunavukkarasar condemned Mr. Raja’s comments, saying he had become a habitual hate-campaigner against leaders of Tamil Nadu.
“No one in Tamil Nadu will take the comments on Periyar lightly, and Mr. Raja should correct himself,” he said.
Actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan called upon political leaders not to waste their energy on the issue. “We could allow the removal of Periyar statues if Mr. Raja promised to remove all statues. Worshipping is different from following,” he tweeted.
BJP Leader Deletes FB Post Warning Periyar Statue to Be Demolished Too
AMN
BJP national secretary H Raja has created a storm in Tamil Nadu with a controversial Facebook post, warning that the statue of social reformer EVR Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, will be brought down, just like Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin’s statue was razed in Tripura yesterday.
“Who is Lenin and what is the connection between Lenin and India? What connection has India with Communists? Lenin’s statue has been removed in Tripura. Today it is Lenin’s statue in Tripura, tomorrow it will be the statue of caste fanatic EVR Ramasamy,” he wrote in Tamil on his Facebook page Tuesday, along with a video of Lenin’s statue being brought down by a bulldozer in Belonia town in south Tripura.
The BJP leader, however, deleted the Facebook post after facing huge backlash in Tamil Nadu. DMK working president MK Stalin has demanded the arrest of Mr Raja for his post. The MDMK, CPM and CPI have also demanded action against Mr Raja.