Two men have been arrested for vandalising a statue of social reformer EV Ramasamy, also known as Periyar, in Thirupattur near Tamil Nadu’s Vellore, local media channels reported. The two accused are believed to have pelted stones at the statue.

The police are interrogating them, Thanti TV tweeted.

The incident follows Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party leader H Raja’s controversial Facebook post that, after Vladimir Lenin’s statue was brought down in Tripura, Periyar’s statues would be targeted next.

The BJP won the Tripura Assembly elections on March 3, replacing the Left government, which had ruled there for 25 years.
In a Facebook post he later deleted, the BJP national secretary said, “Who is Lenin? What is his connection to India? What is the connection of Communists to India? Lenin’s statue was destroyed in Tripura. Today Lenin’s statue, tomorrow Tamil Nadu’s EVR Ramaswami’s [Periyar’s] statue.”