DMK wants strict action against BJP leader Raja for his remark on Periyar statue

A post on BJP’s national secretary H Raja’s Facebook page said: ‘Today Lenin’s statue, tomorrow Tamil Nadu’s EVR Ramaswami’s statue.’

DMK working president MK Stalin on Tuesday demanded the arrest of senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader H Raja under the Goodas Act for his remark on social media that after Lenin’s statue was uprooted in Tripura, it was the turn of Periyar statues in Tamil Nadu. 

In Tamil Nadu, BJP national secretary H Raja in a celebratory mood put out a warning to the Dravidian parties, saying now it was the turn of Periyar statues in the southern state.

In Agartala, amid chanting of Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogans, the statue of Communist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was razed to the ground in an act of vandalism, sparking strong reaction from the opposition parties. 

In Tamil Nadu, BJP national secretary H Raja in a celebratory mood put out a warning to the Dravidian parties, saying now it was the turn of Periyar statues in the southern state. 

A post on H Raja’s Facebook page said: “Today Lenin’s statue, tomorrow Tamil Nadu’s EVR Ramaswami’s statue.” 

A social activist and politician hailing from Erode, Venkata Ramaswamy popularly known as Periyar started the self-respect movement and the Dravidar Kazhagam, from where the two Dravidian parties draw their ideologies. Besides fighting against casteism, Periyar had vehemently opposed the exploitation of non-Brahmin Dravidian people of Tamil Nadu and beyond. 

The DMK working president demanded that police register a case against Raja and strict action be taken against him for his comments that could provoke and incite violence in the state. “No one can dare to touch Periyar’s statue in the state,” Stalin thundered. 

Raja later tried to distance himself from the Facebook post saying that the page was maintained by administrators. As soon as the DMK launched a frontal attack against Raja, the post was deleted. The DMK has planned to organise protests against Raja and the BJP across the state.