chennai sources stated that AIADMK has condemned actor cum politician Rajinikanth’s remarks at the 50th anniversary function of tamil weekly magazine Thuglak. Meanwhile the actor had praised late Thuglak editor Cho Ramaswamy and said that he had dared to publish photographs of hindu gods being paraded naked at a rally by social reformer EVR periyar and he had said that hindu gods ram and Sita’s effigies were paraded without clothes and garlanded with footwear. His remarks have led to multiple versions of the event from publications that reported the incident at the time as well as a police complaint from the Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam.
When speaking to reporters on wednesday, tamilnadu Fisheries minister D Jayakumar condemned the actor’s statement when asked about the remarks. “It's a 50 year old issue. None of what rajinikanth said had happened that day. Cho had told the court that he wrote the report based on information from a few organisations. He said he didn't know anything (directly) about it.”
Moreover Jayakumar also pointed out that the Outlook report, which rajinikanth had presented as proof of his claims, mentioned the alleged 1971 incident in passing on an article about cartoonist Bala. We condemned rajinikanth already and said that it was an unnecessary comment. We advised that he can shut his mouth and keep quiet. Perhaps soon after the controversy erupted, rajinikanth refused to apologise, stating that he was speaking based on what he knew. “I have clarified that what I know is based on reports that exist. I have not imagined it,” he said adding, “This incident cannot be denied but is one that needs to be forgotten.”
