Periyar statue found desecrated in Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirapalli

A bust of Dravidian leader Periyar was found desecrated with saffron paint and a garland of slippers in Samathuvapuram in Inamkulathur village near Tiruchirappalli in the wee hours of Sunday.

The Manikandam police cleaned the statue immediately with the help of local residents and an investigation is on to find the culprits.

Police said that the incident may have occurred around 4 am on Sunday.

Political leaders, including DMK chief M K Stalin slammed the incident, the second such one in the state in recent months, after a statue of the rational leader was found daubed in saffron in Coimbatore.

Locals blocked traffic for some time on the Dindigul highway, protesting against the vandalism and dispersed after police them that action would be taken. Stalin slammed the defacing of the statue of the Dravidian stalwart and said people will "boycott" such persons.

Periyar was not the leader of just a movement---Dravidar Kazhagam -- but that of Tamils, he said. "When are they going to realise that people will further boycott them if they repeatedly do the same mistake," he said in a Facebook post without naming anyone.

"Periyar is not the leader of just a movement. He is the leader of the Tamil race. Those who do such things thinking they are insulting him are insulting themselves," he said and strongly condemned the incident.

PMK leader S Ramadoss hit out at the defacing of the statue and demanded "strong action" against those involved. MDMK founder and Rajya Sabha MP Vaiko, AMMK leader and independent MLA T T V Dhinakaran also criticised the latest episode of targeting Periyar's statue and demanded that such elements be dealt with strictly.

(With inputs from PTI)