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BJP looks to downplay ‘Kongu Nadu’ controversy
Chennai: The BJP formally put to rest a controversy on ‘Kongu Nadu’ by stating that they have no plans to bifurcate Tamil Nadu
Chennai: The BJP formally put to rest a controversy on ‘Kongu Nadu’ by stating that they have no plans to bifurcate Tamil Nadu. Union Minister of State and outgoing Tamil Nadu BJP chief L Murugan on Friday said that it was a “clerical mistake”.
The controversy began after the party had released profiles of newly inducted union ministers and it referred to Murugan as hailing from ‘Kongu Nadu, Tamil Nadu’.
“It is a clerical mistake. There is no need to talk about the issue anymore. It is over,” Murugan said after K Annamalai assumed charge as the new president of BJP in Tamil Nadu.
Murugan and Annamalai said that the BJP does not have plans to bifurcate Tamil Nadu and there is no such demand. “The term ‘Kongu Nadu’ was used as a social identity for Murugan ji,” Annamalai said.
Kongu is a colloquial term for the western region of Tamil Nadu with seven districts, including Coimbatore, Salem and Tiruppur which is considered the citadel of the AIADMK and their ally the BJP has a considerable support base here compared to its unpopularity elsewhere in the state. The AIADMK-PMK-BJP combine won 33 of the total 50 seats in the region while the DMK alliance almost every other region of the state.
BJP’s executive Coimbatore north district unit on Sunday passed a resolution urging the Centre to create a separate state of Kongu Nadu by reorganising Tamil Nadu. The new BJP chief, Annamalai, said that he has sought an explanation from office bearers in Coimbatore.
Annamalai, a former Karnataka IPS cadre joined the party only in August 2020 and his body of work as a police officer and backing from senior BJP leaders such as BL Santosh paved the way for him to occupy this post at the age of 37. On Friday, he reiterated that the BJP will continue to support NEET which DMK is seeking to abolish. However, the party will support Tamil Nadu’s stance in opposing the Mekedatu dam project though BJP is in power in Karnataka and in the Centre.
