Coimbatore : With the tagline 'Tamizhagathin Urimayaiai meetpom' (Reclaiming the rights of Tamilians), Thirumurugan Gandhi the Co-ordinator of May 17 convened a meeting in Coimbatore on Saturday in which he vehemently criticised BJP for destroying the religious harmony of Kovai.
Coimbatore : With the tagline 'Tamizhagathin Urimayaiai meetpom' (Reclaiming the rights of Tamilians), Thirumurugan Gandhi the Co-ordinator of May 17 convened a meeting in Coimbatore on Saturday in which he vehemently criticised BJP for destroying the religious harmony of Kovai.
Speaking at the meeting Thirumurugan Gandhi said, "After 2 years of struggle and finally approaching the Court, May 17 has been given permission to conduct meetings. Is this how democracy works in this country. If people can be poisoned in prisons then Gandhi wouldn't have survived. Such things can happen only under the present fascist Government".
Stressing on the political history of Coimbatore he stated, "Coimbatore has a rich political and economic history. This city has seen several labour revolutions and now this city has Lotus symbols in its walls this has to be removed not only from the walls but also from our lives. Coimbatore with all its heritage witnessed the worst violence in the country in 1998.
BJP did that to our city and pushed Coimbatore into religious fundamentalism. Following the violence, native tamils irrespective of the religion lost their space and Gujarathis occupied those areas where muslim traders and businesses flourished before the 1998 bomb blast. Every violence has politics and economics behind that. Violence towards Islam has not only caused social injustice but also destroyed the economic fibre of the muslim community who lived peacefully alongside with Hindus", he opined.
Thirumurugan recalled the violence that was unleashed on Muslims and also the religious harmony that prevailed in this city. "During Koniamman temple festival, Muslims distributed buttermilk to the public who accompanied the temple car procession. This, was the kind of religious harmony that prevailed in this city. But BJP wants to divide the people who live peacefully like family and cause religious tension between Hindus and Muslims and there by destroying the economy and businesses of native Coimbatoreans. BJP does that to bring in Gujrathis and take over the businesses in Coimbatore", the May 17 Coordinator stated.
Thirumurugan further added that "Tamilnadu is a highly developed State and People who talk about Gujraths model of development should actually look at the growth and development of Gujarat in comparison with tamil nadu development index".
"BJP simply cannot fight with Periyaristic ideals, hence they are showing their agony by breaking Periyar statues. BJP is totally against science. If BJP wins in Coimbatore, there will prevail no self respect", he noted.
Thirumurugan Gandhi finally appealed to the people of Coimbatore to vote based on their conscience and not get carried away by BJP's tactics.