Speaking at an event organised by the Dravidar Kazhagam (DK), the ideological parent of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), senior DMK leader and former Union minister TR Baalu said that it is his dharma to chop the hand of anyone who touches or comes near his leader. Further, he said, ‘You may feel that this is not right but I wouldn’t care. You can go to court and say it but before that I would have chopped off the person’s hand.’

This comes after DMK leader Sivaji Krishnamurthy’s statement saying that a terrorist should be sent to kill the Governor and Dairy Minister SM Nasar throwing a stone at party workers for the delay in bringing chairs.

According to political commentators, the reference to ‘leader’ could mean either K Veeramani, the DK president, or Chief Minister MK Stalin, who is the DMK party president. They say it might be in reaction to the video of Municipalities minister KN Nehru pushing and shoving people after a party event, when they tried to meet him and Udhayanidhi Stalin.

TR Baalu and Kanimozhi are alleged to be the main beneficiaries of the Sethusamudram shipping canal project as they own shipping companies.

The statement was condemned by Narayanan Thirupathy, a state vice president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He said that ministers, MLAs and leaders are competing with each other in unleashing violence in TN.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu: From Casteist Slurs On Officials, Beating Own Cadres In Public Glare, To Mocking Voters For Freebies, Senior DMK Ministers Continue To Embarrass Chief Minister Stalin