Reportedly just days after a row broke out between the bjp and DMK over 'saffronisation' of tamil poet Thiruvalluvar, Hindu Makkal Katchi founder arjun sampath added fuel to fire by wrapping a Thiruvalluvar statue in saffron cloth and placing a rudraksha mala around it. Meanwhile a video of arjun sampath wrapping the cloth and then doing a pooja around the statue started doing rounds on wednesday and soon after he was arrested by the Thanjavur police.
Currently he is being held in the thanjavur tamil university station but and FIR is yet to be filed in the matter. Earlier on tuesday, the same statue of the poet was desecrated and police sources say they do not want tensions to rise. Previously last saturday, while hailing the release of the Thai translation of Tirukkural (penned by Thiruvalluvar) in Bangkok last saturday, the state bjp had tweeted a portrait of the poet, depicting him in saffron robes.
Moreover this had led to backlash from opposition parties in the state who pointed out that the saint was always depicted in white attire and that the bjp was attempting to appropriate his history and teachings. Perhaps the bjp and its supporters have contended that Thiruvalluvar was a Hindu saint and therefore the orange robes are justified/ Members of the DMK and Dravidar Kazhagam however have called this an attack on tamil and maintained that Thiruvalluvar wore white robes and did not wear any visible Hindu marks like rudraksha beads or holy ash.
