Tension prevailed in the western Kanniyakumari town of Kuzhithurai on Thursday after miscreants tied a saffron cloth and heaped trash on the pedestal of the life-size statue of late Chief Minister and founder of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam C.N. Annadurai.
Though the Kaliyakkavilai police, after analysing video footage collected from CCTV cameras installed in nearby shops, detained a man in this connection, who they said was mentally unstable, protesting DMK cadre, led by Padmanabapuram MLA Mano Thangaraj, termed it an attempt to divert a “highly contentious issue” for obvious political reasons.
Passersby first saw the piece of saffron cloth fluttering from the pedestal of the Anna statue at Kuzhithurai junction.
They also found broken helmets, used electric bulbs and dried garlands heaped in front of the statue, reportedly maintained by the DMK.
As news spread, DMK cadre gathered near the statue and staged a dharna.
Raising slogans demanding the arrest of those involved in the “desecration” of the statue, the protesting DMK functionaries said a group working to trigger clashes among different political parties and people following different political ideologies to gain political mileage was indulging in such mean acts.
‘Require treatment’
“After giving religious colour to sage Tiruvalluvar by draping the statue with saffron cloth and splashing saffron paint on the statue of late Periyar and M.G. Ramachandran, the miscreants, who do not believe in social equality and wish to spread religious hatred, have now targeted Anna. Those vandalising the statues of Tiruvalluvar, Periyar and Anna, who always preached and practised equality, should be mentally-ill, requiring medical treatment and counselling,” Mr. Mano Thangaraj said.
“The police should arrest the real culprits,” Mr. Mano Thangaraj added.
