Tiruchirappalli: The Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) chief Vaiko said yesterday his party would black flags against Prime Minister Narendra Modi if he comes to Kanyakumari on 1 March to launch BJP’s poll campaign.
Pon Radhakrishnan, Union Minister of State for Finance and Shipping, had reportedly appealed to the MDMK chief on Monday not to wave black flags at Modi as he had done in the past.
Speaking about this to reporters, Vaiko said Radhakrishnan was a long-time friend of his and it was his responsibility to appeal to abstain from protests. However, a black flag protest would be held if Modi comes to Kanyakumari.
Vaiko had staged an agitation against Modi’s visit to Madurai last month. He had said, “We are not opposing AIIMS. In fact, we welcome it. Our demonstration was because the Centre had accorded permission to projects like neutrino and hydrocarbon extraction which would have an adverse impact on the livelihood of the farmers and also affect the common people. Also, the Union government is supportive of Karnataka’s bid to build a dam at Mekedatu across the Cauvery by giving permission for preparing a detailed project report.”
His party cadres released black balloons and raised slogans against Modi alleging that he had betrayed the interests of Tamilnadu on Cauvery and other issues. Radhakrishnan and BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan had condemned the MDMK for staging the protest.