BJP national secretary H Raja remark that MDMK leader Vaiko “may not be able to return home safely” if he continued to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sparked a controversy in Tamil Nadu with various political parties, including NDA partners, Congress and CPM, condemning the statement. The latest tug of war between the NDA partners, BJP and MDMK, began after Vaiko, in a series of statements, attacked Modi for favouring Mahinda Rajapaksa’s re-election as Sri Lankan President. The PM during the recent SAARC meeting had congratulated Rajapaksa for his poll success. Slamming the MDMK general secretary for his statements, Raja said his party workers know how to silence Vaiko if he continued his attack on Modi. Raja now finds himself isolated on the rant against the MDMK leader as even BJP has distanced itself, saying it was his personal opinion. However, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan appealed to Vaiko and another ally PMK’s S Ramadoss to stop criticising Modi. Reacting to Raja’s statement, Ramadoss said Modi was not above criticism. Supporting Vaiko, he said, “It cannot be accepted even if it (PM wishing Rajapaksa) was a courtesy statement.” On Soundararajan’s appeal to stop criticising Modi, Ramadoss said he does not need lessons from anyone on how to be like alliance partners.
