Blow to MNM as general secretary joins BJP in presence of Union minister Javadekar
CHENNAI: The Makkal Needhi Maiam’s founding general secretary A Arunachalam on Friday joined the BJP in the presence of Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and the party’s state president L Murugan.
Chozhan Kumar Vandaiyar, coordinator, PMK's Tamil social media wing, also joined the BJP and both received their BJP membership cards from Javadekar.
Speaking to reporters, Arunachalam said he told Kamal Haasan that the MNM should support the farmer-related legislations of the Centre since they would be good for farmers. However, his request was not accepted and hence he joined the BJP. Within an hour of his joining the BJP, MNM vice president R Mahendran announced that Arunachalam has been expelled for anti-party activities.
Arunachalam said, "Except in Punjab and Haryana, there is no support for this ongoing agitation of farmers. It is an agitation induced by political forces. Many joined the MNM with the expectation that it would point out the pros and cons of issues. A centrist party cannot come to electoral politics since its objective is to put forth neutral criticism about issues."
Javadekar and BJP functionaries in the state paid homage to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his birth anniversary which is also observed as Good Governance Day.