Chennai, Jan 16 (IANS): Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday changed the picture of Tamil saint-poet Thiruvalluvar in his tweet to avoid any controversy.

In a tweet praising Thiruvalluvar who wrote Thirukural, Naidu said: "Considered as one of the greatest classics in #Tamil #Literature on morality, values and ethics, the treatise on a variety of subjects, including governance remains relevant for all times. #Thiruvalluvar." Thiruvalluvar Jayanti was celebrated on Thursday.

Naidu had tweeted an image of Thiruvalluvar in saffron dhoti with sacred ash on forehead and biceps. He soon replaced the image with Tamil Nadu government's official image of Thiruvalluvar sporting a white dhoti and no sacred ash on the forehead.

"The earlier tweet was posted by mistake by a staff of the Vice-President Secretariat and was deleted soon after it was noticed," he said.

Late last year, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Tamil Nadu unit had tweeted an image of Thiruvalluvar in saffron dhoti with sacred ash on forehead and biceps. A couplet by Thiruvalluvar questioning the use of education for a person if he/she doesn't pray at the god's feet had also been posted.

Reacting to that tweet, DMK chief M.K. Stalin had said the BJP's attempts to saffronise Thiruvalluvar was 'Tamil betrayal'. The colour would run off even if it was dyed several times, Stalin told the BJP. "Instead of dyeing, read Thirukkural and try to reform," Stalin advised.

Thirukkural or sacred verses, written by Thiruvalluvar over 2,000 years ago, comprises 1,330 couplets on ethics and morality.