NEW DELHI: A new political drama erupted after Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai took off his shoes during a press conference and said he would flog himself six times, fast for 48 days and not wear shoes until the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government was overthrown.
The BJP state president took off his shoes during the press conference and said, “Starting tomorrow and till the DMK is removed from power, I will not wear any footwear.”
His comment came in the backdrop of ongoing protests against the state government’s action in the Anna University student sexual harassment case.
This must stop, says Annamalai
He said, “Tomorrow I will hold a protest in front of my house, where I will whip myself 6 times. Starting tomorrow, I will fast for 48 days and appeal to the six-armed Murugan. Tomorrow there will be a protest.” “It will be held in front of the house of all BJP members. From tomorrow until the DMK is removed from power, I will not wear sandals. This must stop.”
BJP and AIADMK organize protest; several party workers arrested
Earlier today, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan and other party cadres were detained by the Tamil Nadu police during the BJP and AIADMK protests.
Soundararajan, who was leading the protest, alleged that the DMK-led government tried to crush his voice. “This is atrocious. They want to crush our voice,” Soundararajan said.
What is Anna’s college assault case?
The incident came to light after a second-year student of Anna University in Chennai was assaulted by a man on the university campus on Monday night. The student also filed a complaint at the Kotturpuram women’s police station.
Later, the Chennai Police confirmed that one person had been arrested in the case.
In a complaint registered on December 23, the second-year BE student of Guindy Engineering College, said that an unidentified man threatened and sexually assaulted her when she was talking to her friend on campus around 8 pm on Monday.
During the investigation, a man, Gnanasekaran (37) of Kottur, was arrested. “The suspect has confessed. He runs a biryani shop on the sidewalk,” police said.
Gnanasekharan was DMK functionary, alleges Annamalai
On behalf of the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit, Annamalai wrote to the National Commission for Women and alleged that the person arrested in the case was a storyteller with more than 15 pending cases. In his letter, he accused Gnanasekharan of being the deputy organizer of the DMK’s Saidai East student wing.
“The accused, Gnanasekharan, was reported to be a storyteller with more than 15 pending cases, including a similar sexual assault case filed against him a few years ago. After his photographs became public, it came to light that the accused was a functionary of DMK (Deputy Organizing Secretary, OMK Students Wing, Saidapet East),” he wrote in his letter.
