MADURAI: AIADMK cadres protested in Madurai and other districts in the southern region on Monday, condemning K Ponmudy, Minister of Forests, who recently made derogatory comments against women and certain Hindu sects that provoked widespread criticism.

B Valarmathi, former Minister and the Women’s wing secretary of AIADMK, who led the protest organised on Sellur Road in Madurai, said initially a protest demonstration was held in Chennai against the DMK Minister Ponmudy and gradually spread to other districts as per the directive of AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami.

Further, she said there is no safety for women in Tamil Nadu. Recalling the past, she said it was obvious that when M Karunanidhi was the Chief Minister in 1989, J Jayalalithaa, former AIADMK supremo, was humiliated in front of MLAs in the Assembly hall after some DMK MLAs pulled her sari. Despite a series of protests, no FIR has been registered against Ponmudy, and the court also condemned it. Chief Minister MK Stalin did not utter a word of condemnation. Ponmudy should step down from his position and be arrested. The AIADMK cadres would organise protests continuously until he’s arrested, she said.