BJP’s Annamalai flogs himself to protest against varsity case

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

Updated on: Dec 28, 2024, 07:26:09 IST

By Divya Chandrababu, Chennai

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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.

Tamil Nadu BJP chief K. Annamalai flogs himself as he stages protest condemning the Tamil Nadu government and the state police over the handling of the Chennai college student sexual assault case, in Coimbatore, Tami Nadu, on Friday (PTI)

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.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Divya Chandrababu
Divya Chandrababu is an award-winning political and human rights journalist based in Chennai, India. Divya is presently Assistant Editor of the Hindustan Times where she covers Tamil Nadu & Puducherry. She started her career as a broadcast journalist at NDTV-Hindu where she anchored and wrote prime time news bulletins. Later, she covered politics, development, mental health, child and disability rights for The Times of India. Divya has been a journalism fellow for several programs including the Asia Journalism Fellowship at Singapore and the KAS Media Asia- The Caravan for narrative journalism. Divya has a master's in politics and international studies from the University of Warwick, UK. As an independent journalist Divya has written for Indian and foreign publications on domestic and international affairs.Read More

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