BJP's Gayathri Raguramm suspended from party positions for 6 months

CHENNAI: Hours after BJP’s state president for Other States and Overseas flagged the issues related to controversial telephonic conversation between party functionaries Surya Siva and Daisy Saran and demanded action, state president K Annamalai removed Gayathri Raguramm from the party post for six months. She has been relieved from all party-related activities during the period.

“Gayathri Raguramm has been removed from the party posting for six months for continuously violating the party discipline and acting against the party’s interest to malign the party image,” said Annamalai in a statement. He asked the party workers and leaders not to have any party related communication with her during the period.

Reacting to this sharply, Gayathri took to social media and tweeted, “I accept. But people who love me will talk to me. No one can stop that. I will work for the Nation with suspension.”

This was not the first time Gayathri Raguram ran into trouble. She had a confrontation with former state president Tamilisai Soundararajan, who in turn, removed her from the party and from her posting as secretary of arts wing in November 2018 following her social media posts and interviews criticising the state leadership.

She was re-inducted into the party two years ago. She has been appointed as state president of the art and culture wing. However, she was relieved from the post during the reshuffle of party functionaries in May this year. The post has been given to FEFSI G Sivakumar.

A couple of days ago, she criticised the state leadership for ignoring her and her team in the Kashi-Tamil Sangamam programme. She was one of the members of the selection committee of the programme. Following this, she was trolled allegedly by Annamalai’s supporters, whom she called a “paid troll army” and continued that she will never stop raising her voice against abusers and trolls.