Periyar statue vandalised again in Tamil Nadu

Unidentified miscreants beheaded the statue of social reformer and rationalist leader EV Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, near Alangudi in Pudukottai district on Tuesday.

This is the second such incident of vandalising of the Dravidian ideologue in Tamil Nadu in two weeks time.

The vandalism drew condemnation from Congress president Rahul Gandhi, DMK chief MK Stalin and superstar Rajinikanth.

"When the RSS & BJP encouraged the tearing down of Lenin statues in Tripura, they signalled their cadres to destroy statues of those who opposed their ideology, like Periyar, the great social reformer who fought for the Dalits. His statue too was destroyed today in Tamil Nadu," Rahul Gandhi tweeted. Stalin charged the government with being 'just a spectator'.

Earlier, on March 6, a Periyar statue was vandalised in the Vellore district and two persons were arrested. The incident assumed significance as it came after BJP leader H Raja indicated that statues of the rationalist leader could be next to be pulled down after a statue of Communist icon Lenin was razed by suspected BJP workers in Tripura.