Chennai : Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president EVKS Elangovan faced the ire of ruling AIADMK cadres across the State on Tuesday for a politically indecent comment he made linking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa following their recent luncheon meeting.
In a speech made two days ago, Elangovan, who had in the past taken on Jayalalithaa in strong terms, made loaded comments on the closed door meeting between the two leaders. The AIADMK reacted to it belatedly by targeting his house on Monday. A day later, the AIADMK party organ Namadhu Dr MGR hit out at the Congress chief.
Taking a cue, the ruling party cadres launched a statewide protest beating Elangovan’s posters with slippers and brooms and setting his effigy on fire.
They also targeted Satyamurthy Bhavan, the State Congress headquarters in Chennai.
In a related move, the Chief Minister filed a criminal defamation petition against him and a television channel for making the caustic remarks.
Separately, BJP national secretary H Raja submitted a petition to the police seeking action against the Congress leader. “Elangovan deliberately made these remarks with a view to trigger a law and order problem,” he charged.
Elangovan, however, stood his ground and refused to apologise for his remarks. He accused the ruling party of indulging in such protests to divert the attention of the people from the growing opposition to the sale of liquor in the State. Coming to his defence, DMK president M Karunanidhi and MDMK leader Vaiko said the State had a duty to protect law and order and such protests cannot be eschewed.
