Justice Markandey Katju has extended his support to Rajinikanth, who is embroiled in a controversy over his recent statement. Katju said that Periyar was a British agent, who was serving their policy of divide and rule.
Rajinikanth recently courted controversy with his remark on Periyar at the golden jubilee celebrations of the Tamil magazine Thuglak in Chennai last week. The Tamil superstar had said the portraits of Rama and Sita without clothes, decorated with garlands of slippers were carried by people in the rally. His comment sparked a big debate on social reformer EVR Periyar with many protesting against Rajini.
Markandey Katju took his Facebook page to share his views on this debate. He wrote. "Periyar Those who praise Periyar reveal their empty-headedness and superficial understanding. Periyar, like many others, was objectively a British agent, serving the British policy of divide and rule. See my article 'Whatever his motives, Periyar helped the British 'published in theweek.in, and my article 'Periyar' published in my blog Satyam Bruyat."
Markandey Katju's dig at Rajinikanth
In 2017, Markandey Katju had taken a dig at Rajinikanth entering politics. The justice had written in his blog, "What is there in Rajnikanth? Has he any solutions to the massive problems of poverty, unemployment, malnourishment, lack of healthcare, farmers distress, etc? I think he has none. Then why do people want him in politics? Like Amitabh Bachchan, Rajnikanth has nothing in his head."
However, Periyarist organisations like Dravidar Kazhagam, Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam and Thanthai Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam protested and demanded an apology from Rajinikanth for being factually incorrect. But the superstar has declined to do it, while talking to the reporters outside his Poes Garden residence in Chennai. He showed a photocopy of an article that appeared in an English magazine in 2017.
"My recent speech at the Thuglak function has raised controversy. What I said was based on what I read and what I heard. If someone expects me to apologize and express regret for it, I am sorry. I will neither apologise nor express regret," the Times of India quoted Rajinikanth as saying.
