Is God on Rajinikanth's side as statue of Periyar is vandalised?

Chengelpet: While the Periyar storm mooted by Tamil superstar Rajinikanth is yet to subside, a statue of the social reformer has been found vandalised at Kaliyapattai village in Chengelpet district of Tamil Nadu.

On Friday, residents in the area woke up to a damaged statue. The Periyar figurine’s face and right hand was tarnished to say the least.

Police have rushed to the spot and the probe has begun.

This comes just a day after Tamil Nadu minister launched a personal attack on the actor-politician post the latter's Periyar remark. AIADMK's Sellur Raju said that it was the changes brought out by Periyar that made the re-marriage of Rajinikanth’s daughter possible.  "Rajinikanth arranged the second marriage for his daughter on the principle of Periyar. He should never forget this,” Raju had said, adding, “Rajini, always patient, is being currently misled by someone."

Several political analysts in the state speculate the fact that Rajinikanth is paving the way for anti-Dravidian politics. It's a known fact that Rajinikanth's political avatar is going to be based on "spirituality" as mentioned by the superstar himself.

And one can't help but remember one of the actor's famous dialogues from the movie Padayappa: "Po da! Andavane namma pakkam irukaan!" (Get lost! God is on my side!)
 

Also read: Re-marriage of Rajinikanth's daughter possible because of Periyar: Tamil Nadu minister

Rajinikanth's Periyar statement:

On January 14, Rajinikanth, while attending the event marking the 50th anniversary of Tamil magazine 'Thuglak', in Chennai, had said, "In 1971, at Salem, Periyar took out a rally in which undressed images of Lord Sri Ramachandramoorthy and Sita—with a garland of sandal—featured and no news outlet published it."

The statement took no time to court controversy.

Rajini's refusal to apologise:

Netas in the state associated with Dravidian politics that abides by the principles of Periyar were quick to lambast Rajini. While some like Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasamy demanded that he withdraw his statement, others like the members of the Dravidar Vidhuthalai Kazhagam (DVK) filed a complaint against the veteran actor.

The Darbar hero stood his ground and said there is no question of an apology in his courtroom. On January 21, Rajinikanth came out of his residence with copies of news publications and said he would not apologise over his controversial remark on social reformer EV Ramasamy Periyar's rally in 1971. He told the media that he did not make things up about Periyar in his speech, and that he would not apologise.

Rajinikanth said, "There is a debate on the statement I made about an incident that occurred in 1971, I didn't make up what I said, but people say I made it all up. Sorry, I won't apologise."

Tamil Nadu stands with Rajinikanth:

Police forces were deployed near Rajinikanth's residence at Poes Garden on January 22 after Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam staged a protest over the actor’s remarks on Periyar. Congress leader Karti Chidambaram said Rajinikanth should first speak up against the bigger issues of the country before raking up incidents surrounding Periyar.

However, #IStandWithRajinikanth trended on Twitter through the day.

Also read: #IStandWithRAJINIKANTH trends; Tamil Nadu Police deployed near superstar's residence amid protests

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• Rajinikanth
• Periyar
• Tamil Nadu
• Kollywood