Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president K Annamalai staged a dramatic protest in Coimbatore, whipping himself to demand justice for a 19-year-old girl allegedly sexually assaulted on the Anna University campus.
On Thursday, Annamalai had announced his plan to fast for 48 days and abstain from wearing footwear until the DMK was removed from power in Tamil Nadu. During a press conference, he declared, ?Tomorrow, I will hold a protest in front of my house, where I will whip myself six times. I will fast for 48 days and appeal to the six-armed Murugan. A protest will be held in front of the house of every BJP member.?
Earlier, BJP and AIADMK leaders also organized a protest on December 26, following which they were detained by police.
BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan accused the DMK-led state government of trying to suppress opposition voices. She told news agency ANI, ?This is atrocious. They want to crush our voice.?
The protest was in response to an alleged sexual assault on a second-year Anna University student, who was reportedly attacked by two unidentified individuals on the university campus on the night of December 25. Police have since arrested one individual in connection with the incident.
Annamalai claimed that the victim and a male companion were on the university campus when the assailants attacked the boy and sexually assaulted the girl. He accused the DMK government of allowing an increase in crimes against women and demanded swift police action in the case.
Vijay, the leader of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party, also called for prompt action against the perpetrators of this ?deeply shocking and painful? crime.
