A statue of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Annadurai was defaced in Kandamangalam district in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram on Sunday, September 25. A garland of slippers was placed on the statue while the head was covered with the red and white flag of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). A picture of DMK MP A Raja, who was recently under fire for his comments on Hinduism, was also placed on the statue, and his picture was defaced with multiple red and black dots.
Speaking to TNM, Kandamangalam police said, “The statue near the Kandamangalam bus stop was defaced last night. We have not arrested anyone yet but investigations are going on.” As soon as the police were informed, they rushed to the spot and removed the slippers, the DMK flag and A Raja’s picture from the statue. The Superintendent of Police (SP) of Villupuram said, “There were no buildings around the area, so there were no CCTV visuals. This has made it difficult to ascertain the perpetrators. We are investigating the case and trying to find out who defaced the statue.” He added that the situation is tense and a police contingent has been deployed in Kandamangalam.
Meanwhile, Sasikala Natrajan, former secretary of All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), took to Twitter to express her condemnation of the incident. She tweeted that the defacement was “an act of cowardice” and asked the Tamil Nadu government to take stringent action against the perpetrators.
A Raja has been widely criticised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for his comments on Hinduism. He sparked a controversy on September 6 when he said at a public meeting, “As long as you are a Hindu, you are a Shudra. As long as you are a Shudra, you are the son of a prostitute.” BJP leaders asked him to apologise which he refused to do and gave a speech on September 20, where he said that it was Dravida Kazhagam (DK) and DMK who fought for reservations for Backward Classes (BC).