A tweet by the Tamil Nadu BJP insinuating that Dravidar Kazhagam founder Periyar E.V. Ramasamy could be found guilty under POCSO, evoked a barrage of criticism and the party had to remove the tweet.
Though the party deleted the tweet, some of the party’s IT wing members posted a screenshot of the tweet on their accounts and posted comments. Tuesday marked the death anniversary of Periyar.
“The BJP posted the message to denigrate Periyar and deleted in the face of opposition. It should have thought about it before posting it,” DMK leader M.K. Stalin said. He said Periyar had instilled fear even after his death. “Let the fear remain,” he said and wondered whether the ruling AIADMK would react like a tiger or crawl like an earthworm.
Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar and Cooperation Minister Sellur Raju condemned the tweet. “It is because of the seeds of social harmony laid by Periyar and followed by Anna and MGR that there is feeling of brotherhood in Tamil Nadu. Whoever speaks ill of Thanthai Periyar, it is highly condemnable,” Mr. Raju said.
“Periyar was social thinker who fought for the rights of all the downtrodden and the socially deprived. His life should not be tarnished like this. What they (BJP) have done is wrong,” Mr. Jayakumar said.
PMK founder S. Ramadoss, MDMK general secretary Vaiko and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi president M.H. Jawahirullah too condemned the BJP.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan paid tributes to Periyar. “Today, we pause to pay tribute to the great Periyar. As we honour his legacy, it is important for us to reiterate our commitment to secularism, rational thinking and social justice,” he tweeted.
