In a faux pas committed, while commenting on the appalling power scenario in TN during a protest demonstration organised by Makkal Nala Paniyalargal here last week, Congress MLA Vijayadharani suggested that her constituency voters were justified in demanding merger of Kanyakumari district, from where she was elected, with neighbouring Kerala as people there have only 30 minutes of power outage.
Granddaughter of freedom fighter and poet ‘Kavimani’ Desiya Vinayagam Pillai, the debutante MLA, made the remark about state boundary realignment over the power issue.
Describing it as her political inexperience, Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) state secretary Kannan said it is time she read history to understand the amount of bloodshed and kind of struggle TN, particularly leaders like Marshal Nesamani, experienced to merge Kanyakumari with Tamil Nadu. “If a part of one state is to be merged with another over a electricity issue then the country will witness boundary realignment daily,” he remarked faulting her for being indifferent to the NCERT book row involving Nadars who constitute a vast majority in her Vilavancode constituency.
The advocate-cum-MLA is also learnt to have invited Kerala CM Oomen Chandy for an upcoming Christmas celebration in Kanyakumari.
When asked Vijayadharani said, “Voters in my constituency requested me to lead a protest, demanding the merger of Kanyakumari with Kerala. I refused because I hail from a family of Tamil poets. But their demand is justified. Did the people struggle then only to be in gloom today?” she wondered.