Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president K Annamalai flogged himself six times on Friday to protest against the alleged sexual assault of a second-year student at Anna University.
Annamalai stood shirtless in front of his house in Coimbatore and whipped himself six times before a party member intervened. His protest was part of the oath he took earlier which included not wearing footwear and fasting for 48 days until the ruling DMK is removed from power.
Speaking to reporters on Friday, “Anybody who understands Tamil culture will understand this. Flogging ourselves; punishing ourselves is a form of penance.”
On Thursday, Annamalai released pictures of the accused posing with deputy chief minister Udhayanidhi Stalin and Health Minister M Subramanian. He also wrote to the National Commission for Women (NCW) to take action against Tamil Nadu police after the FIR got leaked, revealing the survivor’s identity. The DMK government and Chennai police have refuted his allegations.
Party members of the BJP and the AIADMK have been protesting outside the Anna University campus ever since the case was reported, criticised the DMK government over a deteriorating law and order situation in the state. They have been detained.