Chennai/Tirupur: On the occasion of Dravidian icon E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar)’s 139th birth anniversary, a man hurled a shoe at the rationalist’s statue in Chennai and another statue was vandalised near Tirupur on Monday, officials said.Police said they are on the lookout for the miscreants who vandalised Periyar’s statue at Dharapuram in Tirupur district, while the accused in Chennai was overpowered and arrested.The accused has been identified as D. Jagadeesan, who claimed to belong to the Bharatiya Janata Party. A report in the Hindu said that Jagadeesan, a lawyer, was thrashed by members of a group of political parties, including those from the Dravidian Tamil nationalist Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi. The BJP, however, has said that Jagadeesan does not hold any official position in the party. “Anyone can claim to be a BJP member. People can become a member of the party with just a missed call,” the party’s state spokesperson A.N.S. Prasad told the Indian Express.According to the report, the lawyer allegedly flung his footwear at the Periyar statue on Anna Salai, where the VCK workers had gathered to celebrate the social activist’s birth anniversary.Subsequently, the VCK workers, led by party chief Thol Thirumavalavan, staged a flash protest, seeking tough action against the accused.A senior police officer told the Hindu that Jagadeesan was arrested by the Chintadripet police. A criminal case has been filed against him under Sections 153-A (Promoting enmity between classes), 504 (Insult intended to provoke breach of the peace), 294 b (uttering vulgar words in public place) and 506-(i) (Criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. He was reportedly remanded in judicial custody by a metropolitan magistrate.The ruling AIADMK, the main opposition DMK, its parent outfit DK and other political parties condemned the incidents. DMK chief M.K. Stalin demanded that those responsible for the incidents be booked under the National Security Act.AIADMK leader and fisheries minister D. Jayakumar said, “Amma’s (late Jayalalithaa) government will not tolerate such unacceptable acts. They (the culprits) will be brought to book. Stern action will be taken against them.”Demanding tough action against the culprits, Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) chief K. Veeramani said Periyar cannot be humiliated like this – by hurling footwear at his statue.When DMK and DK cadres congregated in a park at Dharampuram to pay homage to the late leader, they found footwear on the head of Periyar’s statue. Scratches were also found on the head of the six-feet high bronze statue of the social reformer while his spectacles were found to be slightly damaged, the police said.The incident of attack on Periyar’s statue is not an aberration. In March this year, a Periyar statue was found ‘beheaded’ in Pudukottai. The incident came on the back of yet another such incident at Tirupattur in Vellore, where a statue of Periyar was vandalised. Two individuals, including a BJP functionary, were arrested for allegedly pelting stones at the statue.Incidences of statues of icons and leaders being vandalised have – of late – become increasingly common across India. In March this year, the statue of Communist leader Lenin was razed to the ground in Tripura. The CPI(M) held the BJP workers responsible for the vandalisation. A statue of Swami Vivekananda was defaced in West Bengal in August. The statues of Ambedkar too have been vandalised in Azamgarh, Firozabad, Allahabad and Meerut.(With PTI inputs)
