Dravidian outfit accuses Rajinikanth of bid to defame Periyar,

Accusing superstar Rajinikanth of propagating a 'false' information about a 1971 rally to 'defame' social reformer E V Ramasamy 'Periyar', a Dravidian outfit in Tamil Nadu has demanded an unconditional apology and filed police complaints seeking action against him.

In a statement, Dravidar Viduthulai Kazhagam (DVK) president Kolathur Mani alleged the actor uttered a "blatant lie that the images of Lord Ram and Sita were taken nude" in the rally held by Periyar as part of a superstition eradication conference at Salem.

This 'false' information was propagated with "an ulterior motive to besmirch Periyar's reputation," he claimed and demanded an unconditional apology from the actor.

Speaking to PTI, Mani alleged the actor appeared to fulfill the aspirations of the BJP by making such a remark adding "we cannot allow insult to Periyar."
Addressing the 50th anniversary-cum-readers' connect event of Tamil magazine 'Thuglak' on January 14 here, Rajinikanth had said "In 1971, at Salem, Periyar took out a rally in which undressed images of Lord Sri Ramachandramoorthy and Sita -with a garland of sandal-featured and no news outlet published it."