BSP Tamil Nadu unit chief murder: Rahul expresses shock, Mayawati to visit Chennai tomorrow

CHENNAI: The murder of BSP's Tamil Nadu unit president K Armstrong has not only sent shockwaves in the State but has also triggered responses from political leaders from across the country, including party supremo Mayawati and Congress leader and opposition leader in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Condemning Armstrong's murder in Chennai on Friday, Mayawati said she would come down to the city on Sunday to pay tributes and meet his grieving family.

Terming Armstrong a hardworking and dedicated leader of the party, the BSP leader said, "The government should immediately take strict/necessary action to prevent such incidents in future."

Her nephew and next in line to lead the party, Akash Anand, remembered Armstrong as a close friend whose murder left him shocked. "He was a strong and powerful voice for the Dalit community in Tamil Nadu. For me, he was like an elder brother. I strongly condemn this cowardly act," he said.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi expressed deep shock over the "brutal and abhorrent killing".

"Tamil Nadu Congress leaders are in constant touch with the Government of Tamil Nadu, and I am confident that the government will ensure that the culprits are brought to justice expeditiously," said Rahul, whose party is a close ally of the State-ruling DMK.

Reacting to the news about the murder, BR Ambedkar's grandson and leader of Maharashtra-based Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi (VBA) Prakash Ambedkar said, "There has been a blanket of silence over tides of violence against Dalits and Adivasis in Tamil Nadu.

The TN government MUST bring the culprits of this gruesome crime to justice (sic)."

Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami said the state president of a national party being brutally murdered indicated the deteriorating law and order in the state.

"I strongly condemn the DMK regime for reducing the law and order to such a level that crimes are committed without fearing the government, the police and the law of the land," said Palaniswami in a statement.

Condemning the murder of K Armstrong, TN BJP chief K Annamalai said, "In our society, violence and brutality have no place, but In the last 3 years of DMK rule, that has become the norm in Tamil Nadu. MK Stalin should ask himself whether he has the moral right to disrupt law and order in Tamil Nadu and continue as Chief Minister of the state."