‘Didn’t say anything out of imagination, won’t apologise’: Rajinikanth on controversy around remarks against Periyar
A Dravidian outfit, Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, had accused the actor of “uttering a blatant lie” and demanded his apology.
Tamil actor Rajinikanth has refused to apologise for comments against ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy, who is considered father of the Dravidian movement.
“I did not make up what I said, there are even published stories in media on it, I can show them. I will not apologise,” Rajinikanth said on Tuesday.
He also showed clippings from magazines and newspapers, saying the idols of Lord Ram and Sita were taken out without dress and the deities also featured a garland of sandals in a rally led by late Periyar E V Ramasamy in 1971.
“A controversy has emerged that I said something that did not happen. But I did not say anything that did not occur. I only said what I heard and things that appeared in magazines,” he said.
“I did not say anything out of imagination or something that was not there. Lakshmanan (then Jan Sangh and now BJP leader) who took part in a dharna (in 1971) has corroborated it,” he said.
At an event in Chennai earlier this month, Rajinikanth had criticised Periyar, accusing him of being a “pungent critic on Hindu gods”.
“In 1971, at Salem, Periyar took out a rally in which the undressed images of Lord Sriramachandramoorthy and Sita - with a garland of sandal - featured,” he had said.
“Periyar was a pungent critic of Hindu gods. But no one had criticised Periyar then,” the actor had said at the 50th anniversary celebration of Thuglak, a Tamil language weekly news magazine started by policial commentator Cho Ramaswamy.
A Dravidian outfit, Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam, had accused the actor of “uttering a blatant lie” and demanded his unconditional apology and also filed police complaints seeking action against him.
