Chennai: The ferocity in the verbal and physical exchanges between the ruling AIADMK and the rebel TTV Dhinakaran camp peaked on Tuesday with IT minister Dr M. Manikandan issuing a diktat to his party members to rip the veshtis off TTV followers if they sport the AIADMK colours in the fabric’s border. Slamming them as ‘bloody fellows’ and ‘useless fellows’, the minister told a public meeting at Ramanathapuram late Monday that the TTV followers had nothing to do with the AIADMK and so they had no right to use the party colours in their veshti border. The party members should lodge police complaint if they spot anyone from the TTV camp wearing the AIADMK veshti. “You must rip off their veshti if they have AIADMK colours in the border, I will take care of you”, said the minister, who is a surgeon and has been known for long his ‘robust’ politics.
Responding, TTV told reporters that the veshti threat was the latest demonstration of instability of minds and actions in the AIADMK. “I think it would do these ministers lot of good if they get themselves admitted in the Kilpauk mental hospital and take treatment for six months”, he said. Referring to minister Manikandan’s outburst, TTV said, “Why is he talking like this? He should move the court if he has problem about our veshtis. He speaks like Hitler. Does he think the police are his private security agency? These people are able to move about safely only because they hold ministers’ posts”.
The mental asylum jibe got minister D.Jayakumar worked up. He quoted a Tamil movie song that advocated ignoring mad fellows and said: “He (TTV) has gone mad because he has no party, no power. And so he finds everybody as mad. Let’s ignore him”. Just a couple of days back, supporters of TTV and deputy CM O. Panneerselvam exchanged blows outside the Madurai airport while waiting for their thalaivars to emerge from the terminal.
