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NT Bureau
Chennai, Sept 23:
 

HEIGHT OF VANDALISM: A DMK activist hurling a stone at the BJP office at T Nagar today. Photos: B Anand

        In a shocking turn of events, the ruling DMK regime chose to register its protest on former Member of Parliament Vedanti's provocative utterances by vandalising the offices of the BJP across the State today including Kamalalayam — the party headquarters here.

        Tension gripped Chennai and several parts of the State today as reports of attack on BJP offices started pouring in. Anxiety and tension heightened as the Hindu Munnani State headquarters here was also attacked even as the immersion procession of thousands of Vinayaka idols started getting underway in most parts of Chennai and suburbs.

        Earlier today, hundreds of DMK activists led by Information Minister Parithi Illamvazuthi, south Chennai DMK secretary J Anbazhagan and north Chennai DMK president Balaraman stormed Vaidyaraman Street at T Nagar where the headquarters of the saffron party is located and started shouting slogans against the Vedanti and senior leader LK Advani.
 

RUFF AND TUFF: Mayor Subramanian and DMK senior leaders engaged in a tussle with the police in front of BJP office.

        The appeals of senior State BJP leaders like Tamizhisai Soundararajan, and KN Lakshmanan who stood at the entrance of Kamalalayam were drowned in angry slogan-raising by DMK men and soon the protestors started breaking the window panes of the office and the flag pole of the party was also uprooted in the full glare of the media and police. Tamizhisai Soundarajan and other workers were injured in the attack.

        Several DMK men were seen jumping into the party office and many threw stones at it. Strangely, dozens of uniformed men including the Joint Commissioner of Police Durairaj remained mute spectators when the violent incidents unfolded.

        Elsewhere, in Chidambaram the town office of the BJP was ransacked by a mob led by DMK town secretary Senthil. Reports of attack on BJP offices in other parts of the State have started coming in.

        Meanwhile, addressing the media, just after the attack, State vice- president of BJP G Kumaravelu slammed the DMK for perpetrating the attack and demanded the dismissal of the State government.

        'Everything happened in the presence of the police,' he said and asked why additional police forces were not deployed despite advance information about the protest.

        'The attackers came in government buses in hordes and went off with police protection after vandalising the office,' Kumarasamy lamented. On the Vinayaka idol procession that was in progress in the city, he expressed apprehension that those taking the procession may come under attack as a threat to rightist forces was perceptible, he said.

        Speaking to presspersons here, senior leader of the Hindu Munnani Rama Gopalan strongly condemned the attack on their head office in Chennai and charged the ruling DMK with belief only in violence. 'I escaped an attempt on my life as police personnel led me to safety to a room in the first floor of the building,' Rama Gopalan said. Meanwhile, in a statement from Bhopal, MP and BJP leader Thirunavukkarasar condemned the violence unleashed by the DMK.