Annamalai hits back after Thackeray jibe

War of words escalated ahead of Maharashtra’s civic polls after Raj Thackeray mocked BJP’s K Annamalai at a rally calling him rasmalai. Annamalai on Monday hit back sharply at Raj Thackeray, rejecting threats and personal attacks over his remarks on Mumbai and Tamil icon K Kamaraj, and asserting that intimidation would not deter him from visiting the city. He also alleged that attacks against him crossed a line into insults directed at Tamils, pointing to references to attire such as dhotis and lungis.The row erupted after Raj Thackeray targeted Annamalai during a joint rally of the MNS and the Shiv Sena (UBT) in Mumbai.

 Mocking the BJP leader as ‘rasmalai’, Thackeray questioned Annamalai’s right to comment on Mumbai-related issues and used the slogan “Hatao lungi, bajao pungi”.“One rasmalai came from Tamil Nadu. What is your connection to here? Hatao lungi bajao pungi,” Raj Thackeray said referencing a slogan historically associated with the Shiv Sena’s early campaigns against South Indians.

It might be noted that founder of Shiv Sena late Balasaheb Thackeray had launched the cartoon weekly Marmik in 1960 and founded the Shiv Sena in 1966, mobilising Marathi identity politics through sharp rhetoric that often targeted migrants from southern states.Annamalai questioned the authority of the Thackerays to issue threats. “Who are Aditya Thackeray and Raj Thackeray to threaten me?” he said, adding that he was proud to be a farmer’s son and had no fear of political intimidation.

Annamalai referred to media reports and social media posts warning him of physical harm if he entered Mumbai. “Some have written that they will cut my legs if I come to Mumbai. I will come to Mumbai. Try cutting my legs. If I were afraid of such threats, I would have stayed back in my village,” the former IPS officer said.

“If I say Kamaraj is one of India’s greatest leaders, does that mean he is no longer a Tamil? If I say Mumbai is a world-class city, does that mean Maharashtrians didn’t build it?” Annamalai asked.

BJP MLA R Tamil Selvan defended party Annamalai’s remarks about Mumbai, saying his statements, aimed at highlighting the city’s global importance, had been deliberately misconstrued for political gains.While campaigning for the January 15 civic body elections last week, former IPS officer and ex-Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai had said, “People want a triple engine government. This is the only metro city in the country where a triple engine is possible. Modi is in Delhi, Fadnavis is the chief minister, and now Mumbai will have a BJP mayor. Mumbai is not a Maharashtra city but an international city.”