Photos of purported All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam workers eating and consuming alcohol in Vellore and Pudukottai in Tamil Nadu during the party’s hunger strike on Tuesday drew criticism on social media platforms. Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam had announced that the party would fast on April 2 in all districts in protest against the Centre’s failure to set up a Cauvery Management Board.
Photos published by The News Minute show people believed to be protesting party workers consuming a rice dish, and a video aired by News18 show purported AIADMK workers consuming alcohol in Vellore.
The Supreme Court had ordered the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre to form the board by March 28. The Centre had asked for an extension till February to form the board.
While the party is yet to comment on the visuals, its political rival has described its hunger strike as a farce. “As such, the government is non-serious in its approach to the Cauvery issue, which is why it staged a drama and people have seen through it,” said Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam spokesperson A Saravanan.
Other political parties have also been protesting against the Centre’s inaction on the matter. On Monday, Tamil Nadu Police detained around 200 DMK workers in Chennai who were protesting against the Centre’s delay in constituting the Cauvery Management Board. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the contempt petition against the Centre that the Tamil Nadu government filed on March 31.
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