BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai has stirred a political controversy with his indirect jibe at late AIADMK supremo J. Jayalalithaa. This has led to further straining of relationship between the BJP and AIADMK with the question of alliance hanging by a single thread.
In an interview to Times of India, Annamalai had conveyed that he and his party would question any government that swindled public money. Though Annamalai did not take any names, the comment that hasn’t gone well with AIADMK as well as TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK is the line where he mentioned about former Chief Ministers getting convicted by a court of law, an indirect reference to Jayalalithaa.
“Many administrations in Tamil Nadu were corrupt, and former Chief Ministers have been convicted in courts of law. That is why Tamil Nadu has become one of the most corrupt states. I would say it holds the number one position in terms of corruption,” replied Annamalai when asked for his agreement on whether the period between 1991-96, when Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK was in power, was one of the worst periods in terms of corruption.
With this comment, Annamalai has stirred a hornet’s nest antagonizing both the AIADMK as well as TTV Dhinakaran’s AMMK which is considered as a potential ally for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
AIADMK leader D. Jayakumar said “Instead of criticising the DMK… passing comments against an alliance partner is not acceptable. We strongly condemn his statement. AIADMK workers wish to see Prime Minister Narendra Modi get elected again (in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls). But Annamalai’s action just implies that he does not want the AIADMK and the BJP alliance to continue and Modi to become the prime minister again.”
Jayakumar stated that if elections were to be held today, the AIADMK-led alliance could win around 30 Lok Sabha seats, and they have a chance to secure all 40 seats, including Puducherry, with six to eight months left before the polls.
He called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J.P. Nadda to reign in Annamalai, warning that the party will decide on the alliance if no action is taken.
TTV Dhinakaran too condemned Annamalai for his indirect reference to Jayalalithaa saying that Annamalai is an inexperienced leader who is ignorant of the political history of Tamil Nadu. He pointed out that late former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani forged an alliance with Jayalalithaa for the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. He said that at a public meeting held in Marina Beach, Vajpayee hailed Jayalalithaa. It is another matter that Jayalalithaa brought down the Vajpayee government by 1 vote in just 13 months.
TTV Dhinakaran also mentioned that Prime Minister Narendra Modi too shared a cordial relationship with her. “It is condemnable that Annamalai is talking without any political nuance.”, Dhinakaran said in his statement.
He also questioned about the action taken by Central Government agencies against AIADMK leaders accused of corruption during the Edappadi K Palaniswami regime.
“Annamalai who has been releasing asset list of DMK leaders and their families for the past two years, can he mention what steps he has taken through the Central Government to take action against them? Just raiding them cannot be a solution. Annamalai who talks about elimination corruption should think about taking proper steps as well. Annamalai who has no maturity and talks as he wish should introspect whether he is fit to to be the State President of a national party.”, Dhinakaran said.
அண்ணாமலையின் பேச்சு;
தமிழக அரசியல் வரலாறு தெரியாத
அனுபவமற்ற அரசியல்வாதியின் பேச்சு! @annamalai_k pic.twitter.com/75ZD5F2GqE— TTV Dhinakaran (@TTVDhinakaran) June 13, 2023
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