Won’t apologise for remarks against Periyar: Rajinikanth

CHENNAI: Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth on Tuesday refused to apologise for his remarks on ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy, the icon of the rationalist Dravidian movement, even as several political outfits filed police complaints against him, and organised protests.

“What I said was not out of imagination, it was factual. It was based on news reports in an English magazine and from a first person account,” he said.

At the 50th anniversary cele“in brations of Tamil magazine Thuglak on January 14, the Tamil actor said that Periyar was a critic of Hindu deities and it was only the late Cho S Ramaswamy, founder editor of the journal, who was brave enough to take him on.

1971, Periyar led a procession against superstition in Salem with the unclothed portraits of Sri Ramachandramoorthy (Ram) and Sita, and with a garland of chappals. No one had the guts to publish these. Cho was the one who published them,” he said.

Defending his comments, Rajinikanth on Tuesday said, “I have said what I have read and heard. We should not rake up incidents which have happened. This one is not one which should be denied but has to be forgotten.”

Reacting to Rajinikanth’s comments, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president MK Stalin on Tuesday said that Rajinikanth should think before speaking about people like Periyar.

“Rajinikanth is not a politician, he is an actor. I request to him that when speaking about people like Periyar, he should think and then speak,” he said.

The Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam held a protest near the actor’s residence.

The Dravidar Kazhagam founded by Periyar, has contend that Rajinikanth’s speech was not factual.

What I said was not out of imagination, it was factual. It was based on news reports in an English magazine and from a first person account. RAJINIKANTH , actor-turned-politician