Video of DMK functionary speaking of ‘creating an illusion of strong protest’ on Cauvery row goes viral

The IT wing of the BJP, AIADMK and other Opposition parties also shared the video on social media.

Chennai | Updated: October 10, 2023 09:57 PM IST

The meeting was attended by DMK Mayiladuthurai district secretary and Poompuhar MLA Nivedha M Murugan, Mayiladuthurai Congress MLA S Raja Kumar and other local functionaries of the INDIA alliance. (Screengrab)

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A purported video of a DMK functionary speaking about “creating an illusion” of putting up a strong protest against the Congress-led Karnataka government for refusing to release water to Tamil Nadu has gone viral on social media.

The parties in alliance with the DMK, including Congress, the VCK and Left parties, held a meeting Saturday over the arrangements that are needed to be in place ahead of ‘total bandh’ they are holding at Mayiladuthurai on October 11 in association with the Cauvery Delta Protection Movement to protest against the Karnataka government’s failure to release adequate water for irrigation in Cauvery River.

Besides Mayiladuthurai, the protest is set to take place in several regions, including Thanjavur, Tiruchirapalli, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Pudukkottai, Ariyalur and Cuddalore districts.

The meeting was attended by DMK Mayiladuthurai district secretary and Poompuhar MLA Nivedha M Murugan, Mayiladuthurai Congress MLA S Raja Kumar and other local functionaries of the INDIA alliance.

It was during this meeting, Mayiladuthurai DMK Deputy Secretary M Gnanavelan was heard saying they should create an illusion that they are protesting against their ally.

“Like how he (Congress cadre in Karnataka) is acting there, we should also create an illusion of opposing them, ridicule Edappadi (Edappadi K Palaniswami, AIADMK general secretary) and eradicate the BJP. That should be our policy. Only if we strengthen the alliance, we can win the upcoming Lok Sabha election by a big margin. We should create a feeling among the public that even though he belongs to Congress (with the same party ruling in Karnataka), he is fighting for the rights of Tamil Nadu,” he said.

BJP state president K Annamalai, who shared the video on X on Monday, noted that the DMK, which enacted a drama by passing a resolution in the assembly urging the Union government to direct Karnataka to release water as per orders of the Supreme Court, is planning to hold a protest to deceive people. He claimed that the DMK and Congress alliance has a history of betraying the people of Tamil Nadu on livelihood issues.

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The IT wing of the AIADMK and other Opposition parties also shared the video on social media.

According to sources, Deputy Secretary M Gnanavelan has lodged a complaint with the police for spreading fake news about him on social media.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Congress MLA S Raja Kumar said that the video was edited in a way to make it appear as if they do not stand up for the rights of the Tamil people.

“In the video, the DMK functionary would have said Congress should strongly speak on this issue and I would have said we will do it, but my voice is not audible in the edited video. He (Gnanavelan) was passing some comments with another functionary and that has been linked to this video. The meeting was conducted to discuss how effectively we can organise this protest. The Tamil Nadu Congress party stands with the people of Tamil Nadu, the issue is beyond parties. We will fight for our state’s rights,” he said.

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