I won’t apologise: Rajinikanth

Actor Rajinikanth has made it amply clear that he will not tender an apology for his recent statement on Periyar, which he made during the course of his speech at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the vernacular magazine Thuglak.

During the course of his speech on January 14, Rajinikanth had said that Periyar had taken out a rally in Salem in 1971 in which undressed images of Lord Ram and Goddess Sita were taken out. He claimed that while no other media published this news, Cho’s Tughlak put it on its cover page and condemned the act in the strongest possible terms.

This statement of Rajinikanth had irked Periyar loyalists, who had disputed the claim. A group had also announced its plan to stage a protest outside his home in this regard.

The Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam (DVK) after staging a protest against Rajinikanth’s statement had demanded an apology from the actor. They even filed police complaints against Rajinikanth on January 17 in this regard.

Under these circumstances, Rajinikanth met the media this morning with copies of what he claimed media reports on the said incident in 1971. He showed copies of publications which had reported on the incident and said, “I didn’t make up what I said. People are saying I made it up but I haven’t. Sorry, I will not apologise.”

The actor pointed out that this was an incident that had happened and that its occurrence must not be denied although efforts must be made to forget it.