There is a visible ideological tension brewing between the ruling AIADMK and its ally the BJP. AIADMK Minister and party spokesperson D Jayakumar and BJP leader SVe Shekher on Wednesday exchanged heated arguments over the ideological difference. Jayakumar blasted Shekher for his comments against Dravidian leader and former chief minister Annadurai.
D Jayakumar, BJP leader SVe Shekher
Chennai:
Shekher has recently made a comment stating that the AIADMK party will do better only if it removes the iconic leader Annadurai’s image from the party flag. Reacting to this, Jayakumar told reporters that Shekher was identified by the late leader J Jayalalithaa to contest in Mylapore on an AIADMK ticket. “Shekher got elected by showing the party flag which has the image of Dravidian leader Anna. After getting elected under the Anna DMK (AIADMK) banner, now Shekher has lost his mind. If Shekher is worth his salt, he should give back the salaries he earned as an AIADMK MLA and immediately surrender the MLA pension he receives,” Jayakumar said.
Reacting to this, Shekher, who is now in the BJP, released an eight-minute video stating that he suggested the idea to help the AIADMK to win in upcoming elections. “In the wake of Kandasasti Kavasam controversy, the AIADMK did not act immediately and when the whole nation was celebrating Ram Janma Bhoomi temple inaugural puja there was no such celebration from the AIADMK,” Shekher told DT Next.
My friend, Jayakumar has got me wrong, he should have reacted politely. “I earned my MLA salary from the government and not from AIADMK party,” former MLA Shekhar said. Of late, there is no much difference between the DMK and AIADMK. My intention was to help the AIADMK by adding the images of MGR and Jayalalithaa in the flag, who are believers of Hinduism.
“The government has arrested Karrupar Koottam miscreants and detained them under the Goondas Act, what more the BJP wants,” asked a sitting AIADMK MLA from Delta region. The BJP is trying to exploit Hindu voters by portraying that they are protectors of Hindus. AIADMK formed by Anna and MGR is secular and is for all Tamils, the MLA said.