Actor Rajinikanth on Friday, 8 November, slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Thiruvalluvar row in Tamil Nadu, alleging the party is trying to paint both him the poet saffron.
Speaking to the media at an event in Chennai, Rajinikanth said,
“The BJP is trying to paint me saffron, they tried the same with Thiruvalluvar. The fact remains that neither Thiruvalluvar nor I will fall into their trap.”Rajinikanth, Actor
The veteran star’s remarks come after the recent controversy surrounding the Tamil saint-poet.
He accused a section of the media and “some persons” of making such attempts.
What’s ‘Thiruvalluvar’ Controversy?
On Saturday, 2 November, BJP Tamil Nadu, on their Twitter handle, posted an image of Thiruvalluvar clad in saffron robes with holy ash smeared on his forehead. According to the report published in The News Minute, the post created a social media furore with many netizens from Tamil Nadu calling out the misrepresentation of the great Tamil poet by the BJP.
A day before they posted the image, BJP Tamil Nadu, on Twitter, tagged a couplet of Thiruvalluvar’s, targeting Dravidar Kazhagam, DMK, and Left parties for allegedly deriding God and berating believers, asking “What is the use of their education?”
BJP, DMK’s Response to Rajinikanth’s Remarks
The BJP said it has never claimed the actor is willing to join the party while the DMK said it didn’t know to whom the actor was signalling with the statement in question.
When asked about senior BJP leader Pon Radhakrishnan's recent meeting with the actor and the former’s repeated assertions that the actor should join the party, Rajinikanth said no such invitation has been extended to him.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)