BJP leader H Raja calls DMK MP K Kanimozhi an 'illegitimate child', sparks outrage

Raja's tweet seemed to question the journalists who were demanding an apology from Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit for touching a lady reporter's face without seeking her consent.

BJP national secretary H Raja has sparked outrage after referring to DMK Rajya Sabha MP K Kanimozhi an 'illegitimate child'. He said this in a tweet in Tamil, the language of which is now the focus of an intense firestorm.

Raja, who is often prone to controversy with his politically incorrect social media posts and statements, seemed to be referring to the controversy over Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit's unsolicited pat on the cheek of a senior lady reporter at a press conference.

He trained his guns on Rajya Sabha MP K Kanimozhi¸ who is a daughter of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi through Rajathi. She had tweeted on Monday on the controversy surrounding the Governor. Raja's question against the anger among journalists came shortly before the Governor formally apologised to the journalist in question.

10 ம் வகுப்பு கூட படிக்காத ஒருவர் தன் பேருக்கு முன்னால் டாக்டர் என்று போட்டுக் கொள்ள விரும்பிய அல்ப்ப ஆசைக்கு எதிர்ப்பு தெரிவித்த காரணத்தால் அண்ணாமலை பல்கலைக் கழக மாணவன் உதயக்குமாரை கொலைசெய்த குடும்பம் இன்று கொந்தளிப்பது வேடிக்கை தான்

— H Raja (@HRajaBJP) April 18, 2018

தன் கள்ள உறவில் பெற்றெடுத்த கள்ளக் குழந்தையை (illegitimate child) மாநிலங்களவை உறுப்பினராக்கிய தலைவரிடம் ஆளுநரிடம் கேட்டது போல் நிருபர்கள் கேள்வி கேட்பார்களா. மாட்டார்கள். சிதம்பரம் உதயகுமார், அண்ணாநகர் ரமேஷ், பெரம்பலூர் சாதிக் பாட்ஷா நினைவு வந்து பயமுறுத்துமே.

— H Raja (@HRajaBJP) April 18, 2018

"It is funny that the family that murdered Annamalai University student Udayakumar, who opposed the mean desire to the use of the title of 'doctor' by someone who had not even completed Class 10, is on the boil today," read Raja's tweet.

"Will journalists ask questions like they did of the Governor to a leader who made his illegitimate child from an illicit affair a Rajya Sabha MP? They will not. They will be scared by the memory of Chidambaram Udayakumar, Anna Nagar Ramesh and Perambalur Sadiq Basha," he added.

The three men he listed at the end of his tweet were all allegedly murdered by Karunanidhi and his family for opposing them or for cooperating in investigations against them.

Kanimozhi tweet on Monday night, which read, "Even if the intention is above suspicion, a person who holds a public office has to understand that there is a decorum to it and violating a woman journalist's personal space does not reflect the dignity or the respect which should be shown to any human being."

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Even if the intention is above suspicion, a person who holds a public office has to understand that there is a decorum to it and violating a woman journalist’s personal space does not reflect the dignity or the respect which should be shown to any human being.</p>&mdash; Kanimozhi (கனிமொழி) (@KanimozhiDMK) <a href="https://twitter.com/KanimozhiDMK/status/986270579228459009?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 17, 2018</a></blockquote>

The objections to Raja's comment came thick and fast on Twitter, with most giving him social-media castigations for the language of the post. Some supported him, pointing out that Karunanidhi himself had acknowledged Kanimozhi as his daughter.