Annamalai enters second week of 'En Mann En Makkal' yatra

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president K Annamalai's 'En Mann En Makkal' (My Land My People) padayatra on Friday entered into the second week at Madurai.

Annamalai started his second week of yatra at Melur Government Arts and Science College in Madurai district on Friday.

சங்கம் வைத்து தமிழ் வளர்த்த மதுரை கிராமங்களின் தாய் கிராமமான மேலூரில், இன்றைய தினம் #EnMannEnMakkal பயணம் சிறப்புற நடந்தேறியது. தலைசிறந்த ஆன்மீக பூமி மேலூர். திருவாசகத்திற்கு உருகார் ஒரு வாசகத்திற்கும் உருகார். அப்படியான திருவாசகத்தை இயற்றிய மாணிக்கவாசகர் பிறந்த ஊர் மேலூர் அருகே… pic.twitter.com/caJV49KEmY

— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) August 4, 2023

During the eighth day of the yatra, Annamalai covered major areas of Madurai and Cholavandhan and addressed the gathering at two various places.

On July 28, he started his padayatra road show from the temple town of Rameswaram and it was flagged off by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

During the past one week, he came across Ramanathapuram, Sivagangai districts and had a walk of merely 20 kms.

Exuding displeasure, a senior leader of the BJP on the condition of anonymity said that the yatra is becoming unsuccessful due to poor coordination.

"The reception and anticipation on the first day did not continue as we had hoped. In many places, the volunteers participate in small numbers. As they travel by van instead of walking long distances, the interest among volunteers is decreasing. It is true that after announcing that they will get the petition in the box, they did not show the box itself, which caused dissatisfaction among the cadres and the public. Due to a lack of proper coordination and cooperation among functionaries, chaos occurred in many places. A yatra can be considered a success only if the objective of the yatra is fulfilled, avoiding chaos at least for the upcoming days," he added.

Dismissing allegations, BJP State vice president Narayanan Thirupathy said that the popularity of the padayatra is increasing day by day. Annamalai is very popular.

"Wherever he goes the public particularly the minorities voluntarily participate and register their grievances. A woman's petition to Annamalai may have gotten lost in the crowd and fell on the road. Annamalai passes all the petitions to the party workers to address the issue. Due to the carelessness of the worker a petition has been misplaced thus serving fodder for those against BJP and termed the padayatra a success till now," Thirupathy added.