Days after Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai’s remarks on Dravidian stalwart C N Annadurai upset the AIADMK, senior party leader D Jayakumar said Monday that the BJP is no longer in an alliance with his party. Addressing reporters in Chennai, Jayakumar said Annamalai was “a little fox howling at the AIADMK, a gang of lions”. Jayakumar said that despite warnings, Annamalai continued to disrespect AIADMK leaders. “If he has guts, let him contest alone, he will not get more votes than NOTA. What qualification do you have to talk about leaders like Periyar, MGR, Amma or our leader (Edappadi K Palaniswami)? Despite several warnings to stop passing comments, he did not listen and our cadres will no longer remain silent,” he said. The AIADMK leader added that the party will issue a strong rebuttal to Annamalai for every word he speaks against their leaders. He claimed that despite requests to NDA leaders in Delhi to instruct Annamalai not to speak ill about alliance partners, he has not changed. Jayakumar sought to know how AIADMK cadres will work jointly with the BJP for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls if Annamalai continues his ways. “BJP cadres want AIADMK to be part of the alliance, but Annamalai does not want that. Why do we have to tolerate the remarks against our leaders? You (BJP) need to piggy back on some party (for votes), you do not have anything here. The BJP cannot set foot here. They are waste luggage. As of now, the BJP is not in alliance with the AIADMK. We will decide everything during the polls and this is the party’s stand,” Jayakumar underlined. Responding to the statement, state BJP vice-president Narayanan Tirupathy said that a final decision on matters pertaining to the alliance can be taken only during the elections. “Anything can happen in politics. Alliances are made during elections. Jayakumar said the BJP is ‘waste luggage’, does he or his party not know this during the 2021 election? What happened then? They (AIADMK) say the BJP is no longer part of their alliance, a decision will only be made during the polls,” he said. Tirupathy added, “Mr Annamalai spoke about an incident that happened in the past. If you have anything against it, you can argue it with whatever facts you have. Instead, you cannot criticise him or abuse him personally. Who is Jayakumar to say that Annamalai is not fit to be a BJP leader? What rights does he have? Is he a BJP member? Last week, during a protest against minister P K Sekar Babu, Annamalai mentioned an incident that he claimed had happened in the 1950s. The BJP leader said that back then Annadurai criticised the Hindu faith but it was staunchly opposed by freedom fighter Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar. Following the opposition, Anna – as Annadurai was known – apologised for his remarks, he said. Annamalai’s comments, however, did not go down well with AIADMK leaders. Pointing out that Annamalai had once faced public wrath for his remarks on party supremo and former chief minister J Jayalalithaa, Jayakumar said the BJP chief should stop commenting on late leaders. Senior AIADMK leader Sellur K Raju also slammed Annamalai saying that people should know to respect deceased leaders even if their ideology is different. Former AIADMK minister C Ve Shanmugam said AIADMK cadres will no longer tolerate any remarks passed against our leaders. “We strongly condemn Annamalai. Despite being part of the NDA alliance, he had earlier criticised Amma and now he is talking about Perarignar Anna, what’s your (Annamalai) motive,” Shanmugam asked. On Sunday, Annamalai responded that he was only talking about a historical event and that he had an archived copy of the 10-day Tamil Sangam event reported in a leading national daily in June, 1956. Without taking names, he said that those who pass critical remarks against him are jealous of the growth of the BJP in Tamil Nadu. “It is my duty to say what Muthuramalinga Thevar spoke about Sanatana Dharma. The BJP does not see anyone as God, we see everyone equally. I cannot misquote history. I will not belittle anyone, and did not insult anyone. History should be spoken as it is. Nobody is a demi-god in Tamil Nadu politics. We are not slaves to anyone nor others to us. Sanatana Dharma is our life breath. If I am unable to defend it, why should I sit here as a state leader,” Annamalai asked. He further said that there is no need for two alliance parties to share the same Ideology and added that BJP will emerge as a strong Individual force in the 2026 Assembly polls in the state and not as a B-team or a clone of any another party.
