Did Union Home Minister Amit Shah “school” Tamil Nadu BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan for indulging in “infighting” in party politics? Social media was stormed with speculation after an 11-second video of a brief conversation between Shah and Soundararajan went viral on Wednesday.
In the viral video, Amit Shah could be seen calling Soundararajan and instructing her something while waging his finger. Tamilisai was the BJP’s Lok Sabha Election candidate from South Chennai. She was the Telangana governor earlier and also held the post of the Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry in the past. She was also the state BJP president during 2014-2019.
The viral video of Shah and Tamilisai was purportedly shot during the oath-taking ceremony of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday. The clip reportedly put the spotlight on infighting in the Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP.
Amit shah criticised
The video created an uproar among political parties in the South.
Karthik Gopinath, state vice-president of the BJP’s social media cell, had shared the video with a caption: “That looks like a strong admonishment from Amit Shah ji to Tamilisai akka. But what could be the reason for this ‘public’ warning? Unwarranted public comments?” However, the post seems to have been deleted later.
Meanwhile, the Kerala unit of the Congress took a dig at the BJP over the video and said, “BJP’s culture and attitude towards women.” The party’s post read, “Anyone with some self-respect will give it back to him and quit, @DrTamilisai4BJP. Being a qualified doctor and a former governor, you don’t have to take such insults, that too from a history sheeter!”
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai also reacted to the video, questioning, “What kind of politics is this?” He sked, “Is it polite to put a prominent female politician of Tamil Nadu on stage and express harsh words or threatening body language? Does Amit Shah not know that everyone will see this? Very wrong example!”
Social media users was also took note of the video, with one posting on x, “Tamilisai Soundararajan, getting schooled…for indulging in infighting in party politics in relation to Annamalai…”
Rift in Tamil Nadu BJP?
Tamilisai Soundararajan took a dig at BJP’s Tamil Nadu president Annamalai a few days back. “I had a yardstick when I was (chief) of the BJP where I didn’t encourage anti-social elements,” she had said during the interview.
“But, recently, anti-social elements have been taken into the party. I have no doubt that he (Annamalai) is a good leader. All I’m saying is we all are different types of leaders, and we make different decisions,” she was quoted by the Hindustan Times.
Tiruchy Suriyaa, the state general secretary of BJP’s OBC Morcha, posted a video of Soundararajan on social media and asked if it was “right for a former head of state to post such a comment in the public media…?” Suriyaa, known for his proximity to Annamalai, said that people were not ready to join the BJP when Tamilisai was heading the party.
The BJP contested the Lok Sabha polls in Tamil Nadu with the support of smaller outfits, including the PMK, and drew a blank, though it registered an impressive, 11.24 per cent vote share. The Congress, a DMK ally, won nine seats in Tamil Nadu and also emerged victorious in the lone Lok Sabha constituency in neighbouring Puducherry. The ruling DMK and main opposition AIADMK, are the two major political parties of Tamil Nadu, which have ruled the state since 1967.
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Published: 13 Jun 2024, 11:12 AM IST
