COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai vowed Thursday not to wear footwear until the DMK govt was ousted and publicly flog himself six times in front of his Chennai residence at 10am Friday to protest police’s handling of the Anna University rape case.
Annamalai’s announcement added to the political storm building up over a 37-year-old food vendor with a criminal record allegedly raping a second-year engineering student on campus three days ago. He accused police of revealing the survivor’s name, phone number and other details in violation of laws guaranteeing privacy to girls and women targeted for sexual harassment.
“How did the FIR enter the public domain? The FIR also shows the survivor in poor light. ” he said, holding law minister S Regupathy accountable for the breach. “Where did the Nirbhaya Fund (for safety initiatives) go? Why was there no CCTV camera anywhere near the crime scene on the Anna University campus?” Annamalai said. He wrote to National Commission for Women chairperson Vijaya K Rahatkar, alleging police made public the survivor’s identity as part of DMK govt’s attempt to malign her. He slammed Regupathy for saying the state was peaceful for three months but became “disturbed” after Annamalai’s return from a trip to London.
The BJP neta said he was tired of the “dirty politics” in his state. “No more public protest because you (police) arrest BJP cadres who gather and lodge them in a marriage hall. So, from tomorrow, cadres will protest in front of their houses,” he said. “In the second week of Feb, I am going to visit all six Arupadai Veedu (the deity Muruga’s six abodes) and complain about the situation in TN.”