Chennai, Aug 15:
BJP Tamil Nadu Chief Nainar Nagendran Saturday courted an unnecessary controversy by making uncivilised and disparaging remarks against Chief Minister Vijay and his mother, triggering strong condemnation from his Cabinet colleagues and alliance party leaders, who have demanded an unconditional apology from him, even as a TVK Woman functionary filed a complaint with the Director General of Police (DG) office demanding action against him. .
While speaking at the Independence Day event at BJP headquarters “Kamalalayam” in the city, Nagendran, referred to Vijay’s short story narrative in the State Assembly on June 23 on a boy searching his father and that he could not be seen (which was perceived as a veiled reference to non-presence of former CM and DMK President MK Stalin in the Assembly following his poll defeat), Nagendran made some disparaging remarks about him and his mother.
This triggered instant backlash from Vijay’s cabinet colleages, with several Ministers, TNCC President and Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore and We the Leaders Movement Founder and former BJP State Chief K.Annamalai, terming them as uncivilised and demanded a public apology from the present BJP Chief.
School Education Minister Rajmohan said Nagendran should speak with the decorum expected of a person holding a senior political position. Describing his remarks as “uncivilised and defamatory”, Rajmohan said he was speaking like a street-corner orator rather than a political leader.
VCK Deputy General Secretary and Social Justice Mniister Vanniarasu also condemned the BJP leader’s uncultured and uncivilised remarks against Vijay and his mother and demanded a public apologise to the Chief Minister and his mother. “What else we can expect from the Sanatan BJP, which has making defamatory and hatred remarks against women as political base”, he asked and pointed out
that Nainar had stooped to such a level earlier too by making a derogatory remark against an actor.
Revenue Minister and senior leader K.A.Sengottaiyan, Health Minister Dr K.G Arunraj are among those who criticised the BJP leader. The ministers maintained that political criticism should be met with counter-arguments, but personal attacks and indecent language had no place in public life.
The TNCC President said Nagendran’s disparaging remarks against the Chief Minister and his mother at the height of political frustration are strongly condemnable.
This was not the first time that he was making remarks that went against political culture, he said and demanded an unconditional public apology from him to Vijay and the people of the state.
Meanwhile, taking a dig at the BJP leader, Annamalai said it was unfortunate that Nagendran has made remarks against Vijay’s mother breaching all the barriers of political culture.
Noting that the trend of making remarks making the Tamil Nadu’s political field uncultured are strongly condemnable, he said after DMK Leader Udhayanidhi Stalin’s recent remarks (during Cauvery protest), Nagendran has now crossed all political limits by making uncivilised remarks against Vijay’s mother.
“There might be differences of opinion. One can criticise about policies and the functioning of the government. But derogatory remarks against one’s family, especially the mother, are in no way acceptable”, Annamalai said.
Pointing out that such politics of making uncultured remarks have lapsed 40 years back, he said “what we should now teach our children and the youth of Tamil Nadu is not third rated politics”, he added.
Meanwhile, an online police complaint was lodged with the DGP against Nagendran and demanded action against him by TVK functionary and advocate Vardhini. In the complaint, she was it worrisome that personal remarks in a derogatory manner are being made beyond political criticisms. The remarks of Nagendran are aimed at creating hatred among the people and that “as a woman and
as a mother, I am deeply pained about it”.
She also said Nainar should tender a public apology to the Chief Minister and the people of Tamil Nadu.