DMK, AIADMK question Governor’s act
DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi said depicting Thiruvalluvar in saffron robes again shows the vain obstinacy of Governor Ravi. “DMK and CM Stalin have already condemned his act. Yet, he keeps making the same mistake over and over again,” Bharathi told DT Next.
Echoing this, AIADMK literary wing secretary and former minister Vaigaichelvan said time will reply to Governor Ravi’s act. “Ravi is trying to distort history by putting saffron robes on Valluvar. RSS and BJP are behind his actions,” the former minister told DT Next.
TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai said, “It is illegal to change the portrait of Thiruvalluvar, which the Government of Tamil Nadu approved. It is highly condemnable and regrettable.”
Claiming this as a hypothetical and debatable issue, senior BJP leader Ra Arjuna Murthy said there is no historical evidence for Thiruvalluvar’s dress code.
“Who saw that Valluvar was dressed in white? Is it documented anywhere? There is no mention of it in Thirukkural itself. Is there any historical evidence as to what attire Valluvar was wearing? As we see Valluvar as a sage and divine, we are worshipping him in saffron robes, “Arjuna Murthy said.
However, a senior IAS officer with the Union government said, “Vaikasi Anusham is the birthday of Thiruvalluvar. It is true that from 1930 to 1960, Thiruvalluvar Day was observed in May and June in Tamil Nadu and abroad including Sri Lanka.
“However, this Vaikasi Anusham practice becoming obsolete in Tamil Nadu, he (Ravi) may have planned such a programme to revive it. Depending on what he has to say on tomorrow’s event, we can see what kind of consequences this will have,” the official told DT Next on condition of anonymity.