CHENNAI: Caste politics came into being in Tamil Nadu only after the emergence of the Dravidian movement and the DMK, BJP state president K Annamalai alleged on Monday. He made this charge while speaking at a demonstration urging HR and CE Minister PK Sekarbabu to step down for taking part in the Sanatana Ozhippu Manadu recently.
Annamalai said, “The DMK’s biggest achievement is that it has turned Tamil Nadu into a place for caste clashes. In southern Tamil Nadu, 23 murders have taken place due to caste issues in the past 30 days. In 2021, a union government report identified 37 out of 38 districts in TN as clash-prone, which was much higher than Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The report also said 335 villages in Tamil Nadu are clash-prone against Karnataka’s six and Telangana’s 17.”
“Udhayanidhi compared Sanatana Dharma with Covid-19 while A Raja compared it with HIV. As long as the DMK remains in power, police will not register a case against them. But, what happened to Senthil Balaji will happen to you too when the change of guard takes place,” Annamalai said.
He told the BJP cadre,“I don’t know whether elections for the state Assembly will also take place along with Lok Saha elections. But there are chances for that to happen.” Annamalai later led a procession towards HR and CE headquarters in Nungambakkam. However, police stopped them near Independence Day Park, where they sat in protest leading to traffic snarls.