Periyar statue vandalised Photo Credit: Times Now Screengrab from video

Chennai/Tirupur: On the occasion of the 140th birth anniversary of social reformer and Dravidian icon EV Ramasamy on Monday (September 17), one of his statues was found vandalised in Tiruppur district and a shoe was hurled at the rationalist's figure in Chennai. The Tamil Nadu Police are finding the miscreants who are behind vandalising Periyar's statue at Dharapuram in Tiruppur district.

The man accused of hurling a shoe at Periyar's statue in Chennai is under arrest. The incidents were condemned by the ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), the main opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) and other political parties.

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Slamming the vandalisation, 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."

Meanwhile, DMK chief MK Stalin said that those behind the incidents should be booked under the National Security Act. DK chief K Veeramani called for strict action against the culprits, saying Periyar cannot be insulted by hurling footwear at his statue.

Earlier on Monday, a man arrived on a bike and flung his footwear at the statue when Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi cadre was paying floral tributes to Periyar on Anna Salai in Chennai. The man, identified as Jagadeesan, was caught by VCK workers, who then roughed him up.

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Led by party chief Thol Thirumavalavan, the VKC cadre staged a flash protest, calling for tough action against the accused. "The man who threw the shoe was arrested after questioning," a police officer told news agency PTI.

In a park at Dharampuram, when DMK and DK cadres assembled to pay homage to the late leader, they found a pair of footwear on the top of the Periyar statue. Periyar, who started the Self-Respect Movement, is a revered figure in Tamil Nadu.