CHENNAI, Dec 27: Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai staged a unique agitation of flogging himself on Friday to condemn the ruling DMK and the state police over the handling of the case of sexual assault on a Chennai college student on Christmas eve.
Though he was ridiculed by various political party leaders, Annamalai however justified his action saying “this is against continuous injustice happening in the state and not against any person.” “What has happened in Anna University is just one instance of the injustice against common people, women and children happening in the state in the last three years,” he later told reporters.
Clad in a green dhoti, a bare-chested Annamalai took a whip from his party worker and whipped himself repeatedly in front of his residence in Coimbatore, as the BJP members stood around him displaying placards condemning the police for the alleged leak of FIR pertaining to the woman’s complaint.
On Thursday, Annamalai dramatically removed his shoes at a press conference and announced that he would not wear footwear till the ruling DMK government is dislodged.
The former IPS officer had accused the state police of deliberately disclosing the identity of the girl who was allegedly sexually assaulted. One person has been arrested in connection with the incident that happened inside the state’s premier technical varsity, Anna University.
Annamalai has questioned the way the FIR was written and alleged that it was drafted as if the victim had committed a crime.
Also, he commenced a 48-day ‘Viratham’ (spiritual vow) to worship Lord Muruga from today. He would offer prayers at all the six ‘Aarupadai’ temples in the state by February, 2025.DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi took a dig at Annamalai’s agitation and said his action has become a farce. “I doubt if the BJP will accept this whiplash agitation. Will anyone whip themselves? I have been in politics for 60 years. No leader has done such a thing,” Bharathi said. Dismissing the whiplash agitation as a “joke”, Bharathi claimed that people were laughing at it. On Annamalai’s vow that he would not wear sandals until the DMK was removed from power, Bharathi said, “then he would not be able to wear sandals for the rest of his life. That is his choice.” Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department Minister P K Sekhar Babu remarked that devotees usually walked barefoot while on a pilgrimage to Murugan temples.Babu told reporters in Chennai, taking potshots at Annamalai. (PTI)
