In a distressing incident, Akshita Nandagopal, a woman journalist from India Today, was subjected to casteist slurs by Dravidian Stockists for daring to question the chest pain drama of DMK Minister Senthil Balaji during his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the early hours of 14 June 2023.
While the caste of journalist Akshita Nandagopal remains unknown, she was targeted with derogatory remarks, referred to as “Nooliban” – a term used by Dravidian Stockists to insult Brahmins.
Earlier today, the Enforcement Directorate arrested DMK Liquor Minister V Senthil Balaji after conducting searches at his premises as part of a money laundering investigation. Balaji was taken into custody for questioning following the raids carried out on Tuesday.
Amidst tight security, the ED brought Senthil Balaji to the Omandurar government hospital in Chennai for a medical examination due to his complaints of chest pain. The scene outside the hospital turned into high drama as the DMK leader arrived, visibly shedding tears of pain while lying inside a car. His supporters gathered to protest against the ED’s actions.
However, common people began to question the authenticity of Balaji’s chest pain, accusing him of acting to evade arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. Akshita Nandagopal, India Today’s deputy editor, took a jibe at the minister’s acting skills, referring to him as the new “Ulaga Nayagan” (Universal Hero) of acting.
The new Ulaganayagan of Tamil Nadu 🕴️ https://t.co/7CYQkQoGJB
— Akshita Nandagopal (@Akshita_N) June 14, 2023
In a tweet, she stated, “Did the blockage appear just now or did he ignore the symptoms till now? Didn’t DMK leaders go on record to claim Senthil Balaji was ‘physically assaulted’ by the ED and hence was taken to the hospital? Wish Mr. Balaji a speedy recovery but won’t stop asking questions.”
However, instead of engaging in a meaningful dialogue, Akshita faced casteist slurs and abuse. Although her caste background was not public knowledge, she was targeted as a Brahmin and subjected to derogatory remarks.
Responding to Akshita’s tweet, a member of DMK’s IT wing named “Surya Born To Win” retorted, “Let the ADMK slaves, BJP Sanghis, and NTK Thumbies call the chest pain of Minister Senthil Balaji drama. But what are the Sanghis with ‘Nool’ in the disguise of journalists going to say about the recommendations of doctors led by ESI hospital run by the Union Government? Drama?”
அமைச்சர் செந்தில் பாலாஜியின் நெஞ்சு வலி, நாடகம் என சங்கிகளும், அடிமைகளும் தும்பிகளும் சொல்வதை விடுங்கள், பத்திரிக்கையாளர்கள் என்ற போர்வையில் சங்கிகளாக இருக்கும் @Akshita_N போன்ற நூல் பத்திரிக்கையாளர்கள் தற்போது ஒன்றிய அரசாங்கத்தின் கீழ் இயங்கும் @esicmchchennai மருத்துவமனையை… pic.twitter.com/QqFMijNUr5
— Surya Born To Win (@Surya_BornToWin) June 14, 2023
The IT wing member further hurled casteist slurs at Akshita, labeling her a ‘Nooliban’ journalist and dismissing her questions. He stated, “Blockage can appear anytime, you know? It is not necessary to have symptoms of blockage. Do you know that? Yes, it is true. Due to the physical harassment (by the ED), he (Senthil Balaji) got chest pain.”
Despite the casteist slurs directed at her, Akshita responded by saying, “Caste toolkit activated,” highlighting the regressive behavior of Dravidian Stockists.
Caste toolkit activated 👏🏼 https://t.co/8WnWfJDN6O
— Akshita Nandagopal (@Akshita_N) June 14, 2023
This incident triggered a wave of backlash on social media, with many expressing their disappointment over the abuse directed at a journalist for merely fulfilling her duty of asking pertinent questions.
This is not the first time that DMK leaders and its cadres have abused woman journalists.
Audio leak fame DMK Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan had hounded woman journalists multiple times specifically those belonging to the Brahmin community.
He had abused business news journalist Chandra R Srikanth by invoking her caste identity who had had put out a tweet that a top leader’s son was involved in a mega land grab.
PTR had made personal remarks against The Hindu Publishing Group’s Chairperson Malini Parthasarathy who had tweeted about Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi’s clarification on the Tamil Nadu versus Thamizhagam debate.
Prior to that, he had attacked Malini Parthasarathy for sharing Isha Foundation’s response to the DMK minister’s diatribe which The Hindu had carried in the form of an article.
When he was the DMK IT Wing head, PTR had indulged in denigrating Sandhya Ravishankar who had exposed some of the false rhetoric of the Pollachi Sexual Abuse case.
Click here to subscribe to The Commune on Telegram and get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.