A statement attributed to BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai is going viral on social media, claiming that ahead of the upcoming election in Tamil Nadu, he praised Periyar by saying, “Periyar for equality, Bharathiyar for India.”
Sharing a screengrab of a CNN YouTube video titled “Periyar for Equality, Bharathiyar for India: Annamalai Defines BJP’s 2026 Roadmap,” the handle Garvit Sethi wrote, “BJP is a crook, fraud party they don’t have any ideology. As elections approach in Tamil Nadu Annamalai has made Periyar as their ideological father! Periyar said If you see a brahmin and snake, kill brahmin first. This is the hatred he had for Brahmins. Absolutely shameless!” (Archived link)
BJP is a crook, fraud party they don't have any ideology. As elections approach in Tamil Nadu Annamalai has made PERIYAR as their ideological father! Periyar said If you see a brahmin and snake, kill brahmin first !!!! This is the hatred he had for Brahmins. Absolutely shameless! pic.twitter.com/kr3mgfS2Pi
— Garvit Sethi (@garvit_sethii) February 23, 2026
Another handle Arjun asserted, “Annamalai is now pro-Periyar.” (Archived link)
Annamalai is now pro-Periyar 😂 pic.twitter.com/GBQoYSvxtM
— Arjun* (@mxtaverse) February 23, 2026
The same claim was also made by other handles such as The Jaipur Dialogues (Archived link) and Hydrogen (Archived link).
Fact check
In our fact-check research, we found the video of Annamalai on the CNN-News18 YouTube channel. After watching the full video, we found the claim to be misleading. Nowhere in the video does Annamalai praise Periyar or say that Periyar stood for equality.
In the actual video, at the 25:18 timeframe, the anchor asks who represents the ideological path for Tamil Nadu, Periyar or Bharathiyar. Responding to this question, Annamalai says that he doesn’t want to disparage Periyar, but Tamil Nadu needed Bharathiyar throughout history for its sense of nationalism, while Periyar showed great personality at times but was needed only for a certain period.
The title of CNN’s video is misleading, as it wrongly suggests that Annamalai praised Periyar as symbolizing equality while outlining the BJP’s 2026 roadmap. However, in the actual video, no such statement was made. The viral claim stems from the misleading title.
In conclusion, the claim alleging that BJP leader Annamalai praised Periyar by saying that ‘Periyar stands for equality and Bharathiyar for India’ is misleading. In the original video, Annamalai says that Tamil Nadu needed Periyar for a certain period of time but needed Bharathiyar throughout the history.
| Claim | BJP’s Annamalai praising Periyar said Periyar stands for equality while Bharathiyar for India. |
| Claimed by | Garvit Sethi, Arjun, The Jaipur Dialogues, and others. |
| Fact check | In the actual video, Annamalai did not praise Periyar anywhere. Instead, he said that Tamil Nadu needed Periyar for a certain period of time but needed Bharathiyar throughout. |
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