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Rahul Gandhi blames BJP-RSS for vandalised Periyar statue in TN

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday blamed the BJP-RSS for the beheading of a statue of Dravidian icon and social…

Rahul Gandhi blames BJP-RSS for vandalised Periyar statue in TN

Congress President Rahul Gandhi addresses during the 84th plenary session of Indian National Congress at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi. (Photo: IANS)

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday blamed the BJP-RSS for the beheading of a statue of Dravidian icon and social reformer EVR Ramasamy, popularly known as Periyar, in Tamil Nadu’s Pudukkottai district.

In a tweet, the Gandhi scion said: “When the RSS and 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,” he said.

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The black coloured stone statue was vandalised by unidentified people Alangudi town of Pudukkottai district. A case has been registered and an investigation is underway.

There has been a spate of statue vandalisation across the country in the wake of the tearing down of Communist leader Lenin’s statue in Tripura after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stormed to power in the recently held assembly polls.

In retaliation, seven members of extremist left-wing student organisation were arrested for allegedly vandalising and blackening Jansangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee’s marble bust in Kolkata’s Keoratola crematorium ground on March 7.

On Tuesday too, unknown miscreants vandalised a plaque with Jansangh founder Shyama Prasad Mookerjee’s name engraved on it in the Presidency University in West Bengal.

On March 6, two people were arrested for allegedly vandalising a Periyar statue at a municipal corporate office in Tamil Nadu’s Vellore.

The incident had occurred hours after BJP leader in the state, H Raja said that Periyar’s statues in Tamil Nadu should be razed just like Lenin.

Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah have condemned such incidents of statue vandalism across the country.

(With inputs from agencies)

 

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