TTV Dhinakaran appeals to cricket fans to shun Chennai IPL matches

CHENNAI: Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran today appealed to cricket lovers to shun IPL matches scheduled to be held here to "strengthen the voice of farmers" seeking setting up of the Cauvery Management Board.

"I appeal to cricket lovers to boycott the IPL matches to strengthen the voice of farmers in the protest to retrieve rights on Cauvery (river water)," Dhinakaran said in a tweet.

Seven IPL matches are scheduled to be held here between April 10 and May 20.

He said the IPL matches were to be held at a time when people were holding protests every day to partake in the grief of farmers.

The entire state has risen against the alleged "injustice perpetrated on us by the state and central governments on the Cauvery (issue), the lifeline of Tamil Nadu," he said in his Twitter handle.

Dhinakaran, a rival leader for the welfare legacy of AIADMK founder M G Ramachandran and late J Jayalalithaa, is continuing his political fight against the ruling AIADMK regime, led by Chief Minister K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam.

He is set to embark on a series of protests covering the Cauvery basin regions of Tamil Nadu beginning tomorrow over the river water issue, to "condemn the state and central governments" for not setting up the Cauvery Management Board.

On April 7, the protest will be held in Dharmapuri district and on April 10 in Salem.

Agitations led by him will also be held at other locations, including Erode (April 12), Namakkal (April 16), Karur (April 18), Tiruchirappalli (April 21), Thanjavur (April 23), Tiruvarur (April 25), and Nagappattinam (April 27).

Nephew of jailed leader V K Sasikala, Dhinakaran launched a new party last month and named it after late Jayalalithaa, affectionately called 'Amma' (Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam) by her followers.