A statue of legendary poet Thiruvalluvar was desecrated, smeared with black paint and cow dung in Tamil Nadu's Thanjavur district. The incident was reported on Monday midnight in Pillayarpatti, around six kilometers from Vallam in Thanjavur district in the state. According to media reports, the statue's eyes were painted black and miscreants had thrown cow dung on it. Following the incident, officials at the Vallam police station were immediately informed after which they arrived at the spot.
Commenting on the incident, Vallam DSP Seetharaman said, “Since the issue happened in the midnight, we are investigating the issue. We have not filed an FIR in this regard yet. The statue has been cleaned after the incident.”
Meanwhile, DMK chief MK Stalin took to Twitter and condemned the vandalism of Thiruvalluvar statue. Slamming the AIADMK, Stalin said that it has become a usual activity in the state to insult anybody who worked for the Tamils like Periyar and Thiruvalluvar.
“Insulting Periyar statue, painting Thiruvalluvar in saffron - insulting his statue in Pillayarpatti etc. It has become a regular affair to disrespect those who have worked for Tamil. AIADMK government must be ashamed of itself as the police have no control to prevent these kinds of activities,” he tweeted in Tamil.
The vandalism of the Thiruvalluvar statue has sparked protests across the state. Tamil University students in Thanjavur sat on a protest in front of the varsity and demanded the immediate arrest of those involved in the incident.
Days before the incident, BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit had tweeted a picture of Thiruvalluvar in orange robes, complete with rudraksh beads on his neck and arms and mark on his forehead.
While the BJP and its supporters contended that Thiruvalluvar was a Hindu saint and therefore justified the orange robes, members of the DMK, Dravidar Kazhagam claimed that Thiruvalluvar wore white robes and did not have any visible marks on his body like rudraksha beads or marks on his forehead.
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