Annamalai’s swipe at media irks party men

CHENNAI: If someone talks ill about my party, it’s my dharma to respond,” declared BJP state president K Annamalai on Friday at a press meet, after asking a reporter to collect Rs 3,000 from Arivalayam (DMK) for a query on banners installed by his party during PM Modi’s visit.

This is not the first time. If reporters ask him any uncomfortable questions, Annamalai has been known to accuse them of accepting a bribe from the ruling DMK.

On Friday, he even defended his stance by questioning the media why they were allowing a DMK spokesperson, who abused journalists, to take part in the news debates. Annamalai’s repeated slandering of journalists has left even his colleagues wondering why he was antagonising the already “unfriendly” media.

BJP leaders worry that Annamalai, much like H Raja, has made it a habit of making every press conference combative and regularly accusing journalists of being bought by the DMK. Some BJP seniors point to Annamalai’s lack of political experience for his belligerent handling of reporters’ queries.

After the BJP leader’s heated press conference, several journalists and journalists’ unions, including the Chennai Press Club, condemned Annamalai for demeaning the media continuously.

“If he did not want to respond to a query, he can say so. Instead, he’s making blatantly false charges against a reporter at a presser that he is taking money. We condemn it,” said the Press Club.