The anguish expressed by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai by flogging himself in public over the ever increasing incidents of rape in the DMK ruled State has put his Kerala counterpart K Surendran in a major quandary. Annamalai’s action was a fall out of a girl student getting sexually assaulted in a gruesome manner in the Anna University campus and also the charges by Annamalai that the incidents of rapes happening in the State are shooting up in an unprecedented manner under the DMK regime.
Annamalai’s anguish drew instant response from Governor R N Ravi on Saturday as he made an unscheduled visit to the university campus and interacted with students as well as the authorities. A late evening release by Raj Bhavan said the Governor expressed his concern over the attack on girl students and instructed the university administrative staff to beef up the security arrangements in the campus.
The Tamil Nadu BJP chief, himself a former officer of the Indian Police Service, also declared that he would not wear footwears till the DMK Government was removed from power. Though the DMK leaders and ministers ridiculed Annamalai for his decision terming the same as theatrics, public response to his swear has rattled the State administration.
But neighboring Kerala, where the BJP is struggling to get a mooring, has been interesting. Annamalai’s self-inflicted torture by flogging has earned wide appreciation from all walks of life. “He is trying to establish the BJP as a formidable force in the Dravida Land. His actions speak a lot and I will not be surprised to see the Hindutva party emerge as an alternative to the DMK and the AIADMK which is getting disintegrated fast under Edappadi Palaniswami, the reigning chief of Tamil Nadu BJP,” said P Sujathan, author and political critic.
Many in Kerala want Surendran also to undertake a self flogging a la Annamalai style and stop wearing footwears till the ruling CPI(M)-led government is ousted from power in a democratic manner, “The present BJP leadership in Kerala is hand in glove with certain national leaders and they have not done anything to make the party an alternative force to the CPI(M) and the Congress. The BJP leaders in the State have resorted to attacking the minority community members, especially the Christmas Carols to send a message that the saffron brigade is an exclusive Hindu party,” said Jaiby Kuruvithadam, a BJP leader based in Muvattupuzha.
Sudheer Damodaran , a political commentator, said that Surendran can revive the BJP in the State by following the footsteps of Annamalai. “People in the State are waiting for a third force to emerge in the political landscape as it is known all over Kerala that the CPI(M) and the Congress are the two sides of the same coin,” said Damodaran. Meanwhile the SNDP, the platform of the powerful Eezhava community in Kerala have made its displeasure public. There is no point in continuing our alliance with the BJP as it has ignored our interests while appointing Governors and chiefs of other Constititional institutions. The Congress under Ramesh Chennithala is certain to perform well in the coming months,” said Vellappilli Natesan, general secretary of SNDP.
The NDA led by the BJP is almost certain to see a realignment of forces in the coming days if the words of Natesan are any indication.
