BJP leaders in Tamil Nadu once again attempted to place PM Narendra Modi’s images in government offices and establishments, with its state president K Annamalai placing a portrait of PM Modi in a ration shop in Coimbatore. In another episode in the Thanjavur district, a row erupted after the chairperson of Veppathur Town Panchayat Anjammal removed a portrait of PM Modi hung on a wall inside the panchayat office by a BJP ward member.
In the first incident, BJP state president Annamalai placed a portrait of the Prime Minister at the Duraisamy Nagar ration shop in Coimbatore. Sharing an image from the ration shop on Twitter, BJP TN social media head CTR Nirmal Kumar wrote, “When the Tamil Nadu BJP leader @annamalai_k visited the Duraisamy Nagar ration shop in Coimbatore to raise awareness about the Union government's welfare schemes, he placed a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the ration shop.”
மத்திய அரசின் நலத்திட்டங்கள் குறித்த விழிப்புணர்வு செய்ய தமிழக பாஜக தலைவர் @annamalai_k, கோவை துரைசாமி நகர் ரேஷன் கடைக்கு சென்ற போது அந்த ரேஷன் கடையில் பிரதமர் நரேந்திர மோடி படத்தை வைத்தார். pic.twitter.com/oDLw9Ro57m
— CTR.Nirmal kumar (@CTR_Nirmalkumar) April 13, 2022
In the second incident, BJP ward member Chandrasekharan hung a portrait of PM Modi inside the office without informing authorities. In a video shot inside the panchayat office, chairperson Anjammal is seen removing the portrait, with encouragement from her husband, and handing it over to the executive officer. BJP workers are expected to stage a protest against the move on Monday, April 18, once the panchayat office opens after the extended holiday weekend.
In a separate incident in January this year, another local BJP leader in Coimbatore had forcibly hung a portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on one of the walls of the Town Panchayat office in Pooluvapatti. BJP trade union district secretary M Bhaskaran was arrested by the Coimbatore police for entering the office and forcibly placing the portrait. Based on a complaint by the panchayat officials, Bhaskaran and 11 others were booked under charges of trespassing and criminal intimidation.