CHENNAI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader K Annamalai has vowed not to wear sandals until the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is removed from power in Tamil Nadu, as part of his protest against the alleged sexual assault of a female student at Anna University in Chennai.
During the party’s protest, Annamalai expressed his outrage over the incident, which occurred on Monday evening when a 37-year-old man allegedly assaulted a second-year female student on campus. The assailant also attacked a male student who was accompanying her. Speaking to the media, Annamalai said, “Starting 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 I will not wear sandals until the DMK is removed from power. There must be an end to this.”
Earlier in the day, BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan and other party members were detained by police in Chennai for participating in the protest. Soundararajan condemned the situation, claiming, “This is atrocious. They want to crush our voice.”
In response to the assault, Tamil Nadu police have arrested 37-year-old Gnanasekaran, who confessed to the crime. He is reportedly a local biryani shop owner from Kottur, a neighborhood near the university.
Anna University has extended full cooperation to the police investigation, with the university’s Internal Complaints Committee also launching its own inquiry into the incident. The case has sparked widespread political condemnation, with AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami calling the attack “shameful.”
