Jayakumar, Tamilisai on same page over abusive comments

When asked about filing of cases on five journalists, who protested in front of Shekher’s house while not taking similar action on the complaints against him, the Minister said, “Action will be based on the character of the complaint. As far as the cases on journalists are concerned, what happened on Friday is violence, which is not the solution to any problem. In a democratic country, protests are allowed, but violence is wrong.” 

Meanwhile, BJP state president Tamilisai Soundararajan said the party would act on Raja and Shekher, besides forming a panel to monitor the social media activities of the BJP functionaries.

Speaking to reporters at the airport here, she said, “I want to follow constructive politics and the political discourse must be constructive. But, the politics in Tamil Nadu is destructive in nature and revolves around criticising and wounding others. Women in public life should be encouraged and they should not be degraded.”

She said, “Making derogatory comments against women journalists is an unforgivable mistake. Posting a comment and deleting is not acceptable. Once a comment is posted, it spreads rapidly even if the person who posted it removes it.”

Tamilisai said she would join women’s fight against such demeaning comments. The honour of women journalists should be protected. Strong action would be taken by the party, she said. However, she added that the entire party should not be viewed through the views of Raja or Shekher. “BJP always treats journalists with respect. When a woman is leading the BJP, there is an attempt to portray the party as anti-women,” she added.