K Annamalai, who led the BJP in Tamil Nadu for five years, has lashed out against the BJP-led central government over the use of police force against protesters and the way it handled dissent. Annamalai, who left the BJP this year to float We The Leaders, said that the BJP felt the need to "manufacture enemies" despite being in power for 12 years.
The former Tamil Nadu BJP president, who quit the party in June, made the charge while questioning the Centre's handling of protests organised by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) in Delhi in a lengthy X post.
Annamalai's intervention went beyond the police action against demonstrators, raising questions about preventive detention, the right to protest and the tendency to portray opposition to the government as evidence of anti-national activity.
"I have a feeling the central government forgets it's been in power in Delhi for 12 plus years and still manufactures an enemy at all times to keep itself relevant. Sadly, that's a pity!" Annamalai wrote in a two-thread series of posts on X.
The remarks mark another public intervention by Annamalai, who has increasingly questioned the BJP's political framework since his departure.
WHY DID ANNAMALAI CRITICISE THE BJP-LED CENTRE?
In a post on X on Wednesday (October 21), Annamalai's first argument began by recalling PM Modi's response to the police crackdown on the anti-corruption movement at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan in 2011. PM Modi, when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat, had said that "if his hands were not tied, he would have gone to Delhi and waged war against the Central government."
Annamalai was of the opinion that Modi was "absolutely right," while he made that statement back in 2011.
The IPS officer-turned-politician then contrasted that stance with what he called the present treatment of demonstrators and those questioning the government's actions.
"Today, you could be jailed indefinitely; your surety bonds could be rejected; and, surprisingly, a Special Executive Magistrate will play circles around you when he/she is empowered to deal with preventive bond cases," Annamalai wrote on X.
Annamalai was referring to the Delhi Police's handling of CJP protesters, and the detention of the outfit's co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashuthosh Ranka after a demonstration at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on October 13.
Annamalai said he had questioned the police's methods during a press interaction, after which attacks against him resumed.
He argued that questioning the government's conduct or the application of due process had increasingly invited accusations of disloyalty.
"If you question the violation of due process of law in a democracy, you would be called names, and a barrage of attacks would follow, including being labelled a Foreign Agent," he said.
IS THE BJP GIVING CJP FREE PUBLICITY?: ANNMALAI
Annamalai's post also took aim at the BJP's political response to CJP, questioning whether the party was inadvertently helping the group gain visibility.
He cited the burning of a cockroach effigy during Dussehra celebrations in Delhi, which he said had been led by BJP MLA Ashok Goel. This prompted him to question whether the BJP's opposition to CJP was giving the group publicity at a national level.
"Is the BJP opposing the CJP or giving it free publicity? Does it want the opposition votes to split by making the CJP a bigger player?" Annamalai asked.
He added that CJP could not have asked for a better public relations team, even if it had paid for one.
BJP QUESTIONS ANNAMALAI'S CHANGE IN STANCE
The BJP hit back at Annamalai for his criticism of the Centre's handling of protests. Tamil Nadu BJP secretary Vinoj P Selvam challenged Annamalai's account of the episode, arguing that the government had a responsibility to maintain public order while protecting the right to peaceful protest. "Citizens can oppose the government; authorities can enforce lawful restrictions," Selvam wrote on X, adding that a statement made by Narendra Modi in 2011 could not, by itself, determine the legality of police action in 2026.
Selvam also disputed Annamalai's questions about restrictions on protests at Jantar Mantar, the appointment of Special Executive Magistrates and the scrutiny of sureties in bail proceedings. He cited the reported chronology of the Delhi Police's revised protest-site order to challenge Annamalai's suggestion that the restrictions were introduced in response to CJP's application. On the bail process, Selvam argued that the number of sureties offered did not establish that their rejection was arbitrary.
"Publish the orders. Address the reasons. Identify the procedural violation," Selvam said, urging Annamalai to substantiate his allegations rather than infer a government conspiracy.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy, meanwhile, accused Annamalai of changing his position on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls after leaving the BJP on June 5. Thirupathy said Annamalai had previously defended the exercise, argued that Tamil Nadu had fake voters who needed to be removed and criticised the DMK for opposing it. He questioned why Annamalai was now backing questions raised by the CJP and Opposition leaders.
"Consistency matters, especially from someone who has been both a police officer and a senior political leader," Thirupathy posted on X, also defending the police's responsibility to act when protests allegedly breach restrictions.
Tamil Nadu-based BJP worker Karthik Gopinath also criticised Annamalai for comparing the current episode with the 2011 police crackdown on protest at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan. He argued that the two incidents involved different circumstances, claiming that CJP protesters had breached barricades and that the leaders were released through the legal process Annamalai had questioned. Gopinath also challenged Annamalai's suggestion that the BJP's actions were giving the CJP publicity, arguing that his own post was amplifying the party's arguments.
"Ask every question you like. Just don't mistake amplifying one side for speaking truth to power," he wrote on X.
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