Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday spoke to the Home Minister Rajnath Singh and expressed strong disapproval in connection with the cases of statues vandalised in Tamil Nadu and Tripura.
An advisory from the Minsitry of Home Affairs (MHA) said, “Incidents of toppling of statues have been reported from various parts of the country. Hon’ble PM also spoke to HM in this regard and has expressed his strong disapproval of such incidents.”
“MHA has asked states that they must take all necessary measures to prevent such incidents. Persons indulging in such acts must be sternly dealt with and booked under relevant provisions of laws,” it added.
After the statue of Vladimir Lenin was razed, the statue of rationalist leader E V Ramasamy, popularly known as ‘Periyar’, was vandalised on Tuesday in Vellore. Two persons have been arrested at Tirupattur in Vellore for allegedly vandalising the Periyar statue.
A senior district police official said the two vandalised a bust-size statue of Ramasasmy in an inebriated state.
Police identified the arrested as Muthuraman and Francis.
While Muthuraman is suspected to be a BJP worker, Francis is believed to be a CPI activist, police said.
The incident comes against the backdrop of a row over comments made by BJP leader H Raja indicating that statues of “Periyar” could be the next to be pulled down after a Lenin statue was razed in Tripura.
As the remarks in a facebook post against late Ramasamy, founder of the Dravidian movement, drew condemnation from several political parties in the state, Raja deleted it.
BJP’s state unit distanced itself from the issue, saying it was his personal view.
(With agency inputs)