Annamalai's dramatic protest: 'I'll flog myself, won't wear slippers till DMK is dethroned'

BJP's Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai on Thursday lost his composure while addressing the media in his hometown Coimbatore and slammed the DMK government of MK Stalin. A visibly agitated Annamalai, while accusing the DMK government for the deteriorating law and order in the state, removed his shoes and said he won’t wear any shoes until the DMK government is overthrown in the state.

"Till the DMK government is not overthrown, I will walk barefoot. I'm requesting the people, please look into all this,” Annamalai said. "As always, we are not going to be giving money to win elections. We will fight elections without distributing any money. I won’t wear a chappal until the DMK government goes out."

Annamalai further announced that he will flog himself six times on Friday outside his Coimbatore residence to "take down all the evil" and to observe a 48-day fast while visiting the six holy abodes of Lord Murugan across Tamil Nadu.

"Tomorrow, I will hold a protest in front of my house, where I will whip myself 6 times. Starting from tomorrow, I will fast for 48 days and appeal to the six-armed Murugan. Tomorrow, a protest will be held in front of the house of every BJP member. From tomorrow until the DMK is removed from power, I will not wear sandals. There must be an end to this," he added.

The press conference was called in response to the recent sexual assault of a 19-year-old student at Anna University. Annamalai criticised the Tamil Nadu police for leaking the First Information Report (FIR), which disclosed the identity of the victim, and for drafting the FIR in a way that he claimed shamed the victim.

Annamalai alleged that the accused, Gnanasekharan, a repeat offender, was excluded from the police's rowdy list due to connections with DMK leaders. He presented photographs and pamphlets to substantiate his claim that Gnanasekharan had links with the DMK.

The BJP's firebrand leader accused the DMK government of using “North-South politics” to distract from real issues. "I am sick and tired of the DMK trying to divert attention from real issues faced by the people. I want to spit at the politics that’s playing out in the state," he said.

Annamalai reiterated that the BJP would address such issues without resorting to financial incentives during elections.