BJP leader Sasikala Pushpa’s house, car attacked

MADURAI: Miscreants unleashed an attack on the residence of Sasikala Pushpa, vice president of BJP’s state unit, in Thoothukudi on Thursday.

A car bearing the party flag parked in front of the house at Post and Telegram Colony in Thoothukudi under the limits of Sipcot police was smashed and stones pelted on a portion of the front windscreen.

Attackers also broke glass windows of the house and damaged plastic chairs and flowerpots placed on the premises.

Sources said explicit comments criticising the political leadership provoked a war of words between the DMK and BJP and set off a political storm in Thoothukudi, sources said.

Sources said recently, BJP state president K Annamalai came under verbal attack from the Social Welfare Minister during a programme that marked DMK stalwart K Anbazhagan’s centenary celebrations in Thoothukudi district.

Pushpa in her address at a programme organised by the BJP district minorities wing to celebrate Christmas in Thoothukudi on Wednesday evening criticised P Geetha Jeevan, state Social Welfare Minister. Hence, the attack on the BJP leader Pushpa’s residence was apparently in retaliation to it.

After preliminary inquiries, Thoothukudi Deputy Superintendent of Police Sathyaraj said the Sipcot police have filed a case based on a complaint and two special teams have been formed to arrest the accused, who attacked the residence. Though the residence was under CCTV surveillance, it was not functional owing to power cut in the locality at the time of the attack. The house also did not have an inverter, the DSP said.

The DSP said the incident occurred sometime between 11 am and noon.