"Periyar cannot be set as a role model for youngsters": BJP's Soundararajan slams DMK over Periyar Portrait at Oxford

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 6 (ANI): BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan on Saturday criticised the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu over the unveiling of late social reformer 'Periyar' E.V. Ramasamy's portrait on the University of Oxford campus in the United Kingdom. She said that Periyar cannot be set as a role model for the youngsters across the world as there are "so many negative things about him".
"It is not Oxford University...They have inaugurated the portrait at a college affiliated with Oxford University. The hall is rented by DMK functionaries. It is not connected with any academic activities or institutions," Soundararajan told ANI.
She said that though Periyar as other leaders talked about social justice, he has many negative things associated with him.
"When we read about Periyar so many negative things are there. So he cannot be portrayed as leader from Tamil Nadu and set as a role model for the youngsters all over the world. They (DMK) are spreading these kinds of cheap politics internationally," she said.
"It's high time DMK should be defeated, otherwise they will misuse the Tamil name and pride for their political mileage...It is cheap politics," she added.
In a ceremony marking the centenary of the Self-Respect Movement, CM Stalin unveiled the portrait on Thursday.
"It is a lifetime honour to unveil the portrait of Father Periyar at Oxford University - an institution synonymous with knowledge, human rights, and dignity. This unveiling is proof that Periyar's rationalist light now shines across the world, beyond the borders of Tamil Nadu," Stalin had said in his address at the ceremony.
The event, jointly organised by St. Antony's College and Balliol College of Oxford, was attended by leading scholars, including Professor Faisal Devji, Professor James Mallinson, and researcher Pramila Bester, alongside Tamil Nadu Industries Minister T R B Raja.
Stalin recalled that nearly 40 years earlier, in 1983, Periyar's centenary was celebrated at Oxford by Dravidar Kazhagam President K. Veeramani, and said it was deeply moving to see Periyar once again honoured on the global stage.
Explaining the essence of Periyar's philosophy, Stalin said, "If someone asks what Periyarism means, we must introduce them to its foundations - self-respect, rationalism, social justice, gender equality, fraternity, scientific temper, secular politics, women's emancipation, and human dignity." (ANI)