MADURAI: Minister for Cooperation Sellur K Raju on Tuesday condemned a tweet by the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP on 'Periyar' E V Ramasamy, and said that Dravidian stalwarts like Periyar and Anna contributed much to Tamil Nadu's development.
Speaking to reporters here, the minister said, "Any offensive comment on Maniammai and Periyar is condemnable, regardless of who made the comment. Periyar was the founder of the Self-respect Movement that was taken forward by 'Arignar' Anna. Tamil Nadu will always be a Dravidian land."
At a time when South Indian states stood divided on the basis of religion and caste, Dravidian stalwarts like Periyar, Anna, MG Ramachandran, and Kalaignar Karunanidhi unified Tamil Nadu and brought about developments in the State, he said.
He said that the AIADMK, as a Dravidian party, would condemn any comment that insults Periyar, regardless of who made it.
The comment
The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP on Tuesday, Periyar's 46th death anniversary, posted a tweet in Tamil that read, "On the death anniversary of Maniammai's father, EV Ramasamy, let us take a pledge to support death penalty for child sex abuse crimes and to build a society devoid of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) Act criminals."
The post, which made a tacit remark about Periyar's second marriage with Maniammai when he was 70 and she 32, was soon removed after it drew flak from all quarters.