BJP continues Vetrivel yatra, defies ally AIADMK in TN

Leaders of both parties believe that the tensions in Tamil Nadu between the allies will not impact their ties at the national level.

Alliance partners AIADMK and BJP are walking a tightrope in Tamil Nadu with the state government refusing to grant permission for the national party’s Vetrivel yatra (victorious spear march) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) defying it.

Tamil Nadu BJP President L Murugan and several other leaders and supporters were arrested on Friday at Tiruttani, when he was about to launch the yatra without permission. (PTI Photo)

The BJP launched the yatra as planned on November 6 at Tiruttani temple in Tiruvallur district and continued it for the second day on Sunday in Chennai --- courting arrests on both days.

So far, the AIADMK government has twice refused permission to its ally, the BJP, for conducting Vetrivel Yatra on Thursday and for the idol immersion procession during Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations in August earlier this year.

The AIADMK has cited Covid-19 pandemic and law and order as reasons for denying the permission. Despite the standoff, senior leaders of both parties maintain that their relationship at the national level will not come under strain due to local issues. Political observers see it as AIADMK’s push back to BJP’s attempts to make inroads ahead of the 2021 assembly elections in Tamil Nadu.

The DMK has accused the AIADMK of being subservient to the BJP-led Centre. The Dravidian party has supported the Narendra Modi government on contentious issues including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Triple Talaq and the three farm reform bills. But lately, AIADMK has hardened its stance on matters including the three language formula prescribed under the national education policy and provisioned for 7.5% reservation for government school students who clear the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET).

AIADMK has also disapproved the use of party founder MG Ramachandran’s (MGR) photos and videos in the BJP’s promotional content for the Yatra. They also condemned incidents when unidentified miscreants threw saffron paint on statues of MGR and Periyar, the forerunner of the Dravidian movement.

The AIADMK is being dualistic by appeasing the Centre while also rallying for the state, says Ramu Manivannan, head, politics and public administration department, University of Madras. “Except during J Jayalalithaa’s period, AIADMK has always been dualistic. Even MGR surrendered to the Centre unlike Karunanidhi who could either challenge or surrender to the Centre as he chose.”

The BJP is playing the Hindu card in Tamil Nadu which was clearly visible in the agenda for the month-long march in which the saffron BJP has invoked Tamil deity Lord Murugan to expose an alleged “anti-Hindu and anti-Tamil propaganda” with a view to consolidate the Hindu vote bank.

The yatra stemmed from a controversy when BJP went up against a Youtube channel Karuppar Kootam which ridiculed Kandha Sashti Kavasam, a devotional hymn dedicated to Lord Muruga. State BJP chief L Murugan has been accusing DMK leader MK Stalin of backing the members of the Youtube group but the DMK has denied it. Police arrested those who made the video.

In October, the BJP locked horns with DMK ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK). It filed a case against VCK president and Lok Sabha MP Thol Thirumavalavan accusing him of insulting Hindu women. The Dalit leader explained that he only quoted the Manusmriti which denigrates women. “They can’t defend the Manusmriti, so it backfired,” said VCK MP Ravikumar.

“Their (BJP) ideology won’t work here,” an AIADMK leader said on condition of anonymity. “Instead of focussing on religious issues they could have cooperated with the state on NEET, hydrocarbon extraction (project in Pudukkottai district) and got people’s support,” he said.

However, a BJP leader denied that their differences would be difficult to navigate. “It is the government’s line, not the AIADMK’s party stance on our yatra,” said BJP’s state vice president K S Narendiran.