CHENNAI: A day after union home minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah directed his party workers to win more than 25 parliamentary seats for the NDA in Tamil Nadu in the Lok Sabha elections, the ties between the BJP and AIADMK hit a new low on Monday over BJP state president K Annamalai’s comments about former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.
Annamalai, in an interview, said former CMs of TN were convicted by courts and Tamil Nadu has become one of the most corrupt states. Though he did not mention Jayalalithaa’s name, his reference to her was obvious.
Reacting strongly, AIADMK organising secretary D Jayakumar urged BJP national president J P Nadda and Amit Shah to censure Annamalai for making such comments, and said his party will be forced to rethink its ties with the saffron party if Annamalai is not restrained. “Annamalai is unfit for the BJP state chief’s post. He is a naive politician who does not know history,” Jayakumar said.
‘BJP has an identity only when it is with AIADMK’
Talking to reporters, Jayakumar said Annamalai’s actions over the past few years raise strong suspicion if he is out to break the AIADMK-BJP alliance and does not want Narendra Modi to become the PM again. Reacting to Jayakumar’s charges, BJP state vice-president Karu Nagarajan, said, “Jayakumar is cutting the bottom of the tree sitting on its edge.
His remarks would only affect the AIADMK. Alliance means all coming together. There is no room for big brother attitude.” Jayakumar said if LS polls happen now, the AIADMK alliance will win at least 30 seats.
As the anti-incumbency wave against the DMK government would increase in the next eight months, and everything is working in our favour, Annamalai’s activities could damage the alliance’s prospects, Jayakumar said. “BJP has an identity only when it is part of the AIADMKled alliance. If he continues his criticisms against the AIADMK, we will be forced to reconsider the alliance with the BJP.
We are confident that national leaders of the BJP will not force us into that situation,” Jayakumar said. The AIADMK leader said just to project himself, Annamalai has been passing unsavoury comments about the AIADMK. “Every worker in the AIADMK is agitated by Annamalai’s remarks against Jayalalithaa,” he said. Those who served as BJP’s state presidents in the past --- Pon Radhakrishnan, Tamilisai Soundararajan, and L Murugan --- had a cordial relationship with the AIADMK and maintained ‘alliance dharma’, but Annamalai has violated it, Jayakumar said.
“If Annamalai continues to make such remarks, we will respond strongly,” he said. Jayakumar also wondered why Annamalai, who speaks about corruption, failed to utter anything about the ‘40% government’ in Karnataka. After 20 years, the BJP could have four MLAs in Tamil Nadu only because of the AIADMK, he said.
Deposed AIADMK leader O Panneerselvam too condemned Annamalai. “His remarks against the AIADMK and Amma (Jayalalithaa) show his political immaturity and remind us about the Tamil proverb kazhuthaikku theriyuma karpoora vaasanai? (Does a donkey know camphor’s fragrance?),” Panneerselvam said in a statement.