BJP leader H Raja expresses regret over FB post on Periyar

Under fire from political parties in Tamil Nadu for his comments on late Dravidian leader Periyar, senior BJP leader H Raja today sought to blame his 'Facebook administrator' for the gaffe and expressed regret over the same.

In a Facebook post today, he said that "Facebook admin" had put up a post comparing the razing down of Lenin statue in Tripura with that of EV Ramaswamy, popularly addressed as Periyar in Tamil Nadu.

"Views should be confronted by views only and not by violence. I have no intentions of hurting anybody. Therefore, if anybody felt hurt by that post, I express my heartfelt regret," he said.

"It is not acceptable to us to damage any statue of Periyar," he further said.

A row had erupted in Tamil Nadu yesterday over Raja's remarks indicating that statues of Periyar could be the next to be pulled down after a Lenin statue was razed in Tripura.

As the comments in a Facebook post against late Ramasamy, founder of the Dravidian movement, drew condemnation from several political parties in the state, Raja deleted it while BJP's state unit distanced itself from the issue, saying it was his personal view.

Two persons were arrested at Tirupattur in Vellore district yesterday for allegedly vandalising a statue of Periyar.

A senior district police official said the two persons vandalised a bust-size statue of Ramasasmy in an inebriated state.