Veil goes off statues of Anna, Periyar in Tirupur

Statues of Anna and Periyar near Tirupur railway station spotted with garlands put by Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam on Friday, soon after the election officials removed the cloth with which they covered the statues once the election dates were announced. Photo: R. VIMAL KUMAR

The election officials, on Friday, removed the veil from the statues of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam founder C.N. Annadurai and Dravidar Kazhagam founder E.V. Ramasamy (Periyar) situated near the Tirupur railway station.

Petition

The uncovering of the statues came immediately on the heels of a petition submitted by the members of Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK) to the District Election Officer and other election officials against the covering of statues of late political leaders, in the name of model code of conduct.

HC verdict

The DVK members had even threatened to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the election officials, if the cover was not removed, citing the Madras High Court’s favourable verdict on a petition filed by Dravidar Kazhagam (DK) against similar covering of Periyar’s statue in the State during 2011 elections. “During the hearing of that case, the Election Commission of India’s lawyer had clarified that ECI took a decision to cover only the statues of political leaders who are alive,” M. Mugilrasu, district organiser of the DVK, explained to the election officials here to substantiate the outfit’s demand for uncovering the statues.

Garlanded

Soon after the statues were uncovered, the DVK members garlanded the statues and shouted slogans highlighting the deeds of Periyar who fought against social evils.