Chennai: A leader of a Hindu fringe group who had draped a saffron shawl around the statue of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar in Thanjavur district was detained on Wednesday. The same statue had been vandalised by miscreants on Monday.
Earlier on Wednesday, Hindu Makkal Katchi leader Arjun Sampath visited Thanjavur and garlanded the statue as well as placed a ‘Rudraksh’ chain around it. Although the fringe group had received permission to garland the statue, Sampath faced flak for his act and has been detained.
Thiruvalluvar’s statue in Thanjavur was desecrated on Monday, a day after an image showed one of his statues in saffron robes, leading to a political scuffle between the BJP and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).
The incident happened in Pillayarpatti village where miscreants smeared ink and cow dung on the statue’s face. However, no arrests have been made yet in connection with this desecration.
Meanwhile, the BJP Tamil Nadu IT team has asked its party cadre to pay floral tributes to Thiruvalluvar portraits at public places on November 9 and 10. They have also urged party members to distribute pictures of Thiruvalluvar to people in their respective localities.
While the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) backed the BJP's post that showed the saint enrobed in saffron, another ally, the Vijayakanth-led Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) condemned the BJP’s move. In a statement, Vijayakanth said political parties should not involve Thiruvalluvar and there should be no religious or casteist colours added to the renowned poet as he is above religion, caste and creed.
A political slugfest between the BJP and the DMK ensued on Friday after Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a book on Thirukkural in Thai language in Bangkok, following which the saffron party’s Tamil Nadu unit tweeted a picture of the poet-saint wearing saffron robes with ash smeared on his forehead and a ‘rudraksha’ around his neck. Thiruvalluvar had written Tirukkural, a collection of 1,330 couplets of worldly wisdom. It later came to be known as the Universal common code, or ‘Ulaga podhu marai’.
The Opposition had condemned the tweet, describing it as saffronising Thiruvalluvar and soon “#BJPinsultsthiruvallur” became one of the top trends on Sunday.
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