Chennai: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam MP A.Raja issued a public apology the day after Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi Palanisami spoke emotionally during in his election campaign accusing the former of defaming his deceased mother. A video of A.Raja’s campaign at the Chepauk assembly constituency went viral on Saturday for making a bigoted remark about Tamil Nadu chief minister’s birth. Raja’s apology came a day after the police booked him under relevant IPCs. In his two-page apology, Raja denied the accusation mentioning he was merely comparing the leadership qualities of both the DMK leader Stalin and the chief minister using a metaphor.
Raja further said, ‘However, I came across few reports that the chief minister was deeply tormented over my remarks. Hence I deeply regret from the bottom of my heart for the misunderstanding’
Election for the 234 assembly constituencies of Tamil Nadu is scheduled for Apr 6. The campaigns on the other-hand are becoming a heap of sexist comments with parties like Naam Tamilar Katchi’s irrational comments on sanitary napkins and a DMK spokesperson’s crude comments against women. However, DMK leader M.K.Stalin released a public statement advising party men to maintain dignity while campaigning.
Sexism is not new to Tamil Nadu politics. The land known for its gender-biased representation has an unfortunate side of patriarchal politics. Not so long ago the ruling AIADMK expelled one of its youth wing secretaries after the CBI arrested him for the 'Pollachi Sexual Assault' case. Though the party released an official statement about the expulsion there wasn't an apology from the leaders for sheltering a rape accused. The irony is that AIADMK has a number of loyal women voters across the state.
The Tamil Nadu BJP is no exception when it comes to such safeguarding. In 2018,when the party member & actor S.Ve.Shekar made derogatory remarks about women in the regional media, the party remained silent. In a Facebook post he spoke about the scandal involving Tamil Nadu governor and Madurai Kamaraj University with a cheap comment. He went overboard when he publicly said, ‘women journalists sleep around for work’. When it received a very strong condemnation, neither S.Ve.Shekar nor the party which was then led by Dr.Tamilisai Soundararajan took efforts to make a public apology. Instead, women journalists who protested in front of his house were arrested by the police.
DMK is widely criticized for denying to setup any investigative committee to look into the sexual harassment accusations by 17 women against the lyricist and the party member Vairamuthu.
In a country where those accused have never felt the need to apologize for committing crimes against women, where patriarchal politics has underrated self-criticism, it came as a surprise when one of the largest parties in the state released an advisory for their members to maintain decorum and a member of the party released a heartfelt apology for his comments.
After all the power of a heartfelt apology has the power to heal than any other punishment.