A New Danger: Pakistani Shadow On Tamilnadu Soil
Gayatri Kandhadai, the Chennai woman who hit headlines by her anti CAA Rangoli campaign, has emerged as a dangerous pro Pakistan agent. Chennai Police commissioner dug out her Pak connections; one of her social media accounts mentioned her as being part of an organisation based in that country. The latest issue of THUGLAK, a Tamil weekly edited by S. Gurumurthi, carries more on her: “Gayatri has made 48 foreign trips in the past 5 years. That would cost up to Rs. 10 crores. Who met her travel bills? Pak agents meet Pak officials in Dubai or Bangkk. Gayatri, who had frequented these spots, also visited Lahore in 2014. That trip too was via third countries in order to avoid suspicion. The highly circumspect and disturbing aspect of her actions is her claim that her passport was missing. She obtained new passport four times over for her visits abroad. It is clear that she has something to hide. More. Gayatri is associated with a couple of local left outfits. Soon after the Rangoli episode, Gayatri cleverly hobnobbed with DMK leaders with the ill-informed media in attendance.” The pro Pak nature of the anti CAA protest became all the more clear.
Beware Of Sinister Separatist Straws In The Wind!
A few recent incidents in Thanjavur, Trichy and Pudukkottai districts in Tamil Nadu, point to anti national outfits setting a new narrative, soon after the anti CAA demonstrations fizzled out. Groups of unruly men resorted to forcibly locking the shops of those whom they call “north Indians”. Though police have taken action against these separatist outfits, the need and call of the hour is to protect national integration before mischief goes out of hand. This divide is perilous as days go by and calls for Government’s intervention to contain the situation. Of course, wherever we go in Tamilnadu, we see “north Indians” working, be it building construction, hotel, or a shop for trivia. But migrant work force is not unique to Tamilnadu. Behind the facade of locals losing jobs, some Tamil separatist outfits attempt to revive the olden day anti north frenzy. They just want to drive a wedge between locals and outsiders. This would lead to tension and loss of social cohesion. At the end of it all, growth will get a beating. Hence, the Centre should keep an eye on these fringe groups too, in addition to its ongoing hunt for IS modules in the state, so that national security is ensured.
Rural Tamilnadu beaconing Lotus?
The rural local bodies polls brought in many surprises. In some places, it defied the regular trend and in some it yields some revelations. Odanthurai,a small Panchayat in an hour’s drive from Coimbatore, became a model panchayat under the leadership of Shanmugham for 10 years (1996-2006). His wife was defeated in the election, as the panchayat is now a woman’s constituency. He turned out to be unlucky third time. His opponent Thangavel (backed by DMK ) won just by a lean margin of 53 votes. Shanmugham lamented that the victory was enabled by the abominable cash for vote practice. At the other side of the tunnel, Jaya Sandhya, a 21 year old college student, won defeating both ADMK And DMK bigwigs in Krishnagiri distirct. In many places both the major parties blamed each other for deceptive winning. Melur, near Madurai, saw a 79 year old winning a ward member seat. In a Hindu majority Panchayat near Trichy that has only 60 Muslim votes saw a Muslim candidate win. The muthraiyar and vellalar communities took this decision to make the minority candidate win to prove the religious cohesion in the village. This election also saw BJP making inroads in rural Tamilnadu.
