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Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minority wing leader Daisy Saran levelled a series of allegations against former BJP state president K Annamalai on June 8, claiming that he had pressured her to remain silent about the 2022 Tiruchi Suriyaa audio row.
At the time of the controversy, Suriyaa was the BJP’s OBC Morcha leader. He is also the son of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva. In 2022, an audio clip surfaced in which Suriyaa could be heard threatening Daisy and using derogatory language.
Both Daisy and Suriyaa were suspended from their party posts for six months. Suriyaa later quit the BJP.
Daisy’s allegations also come days after Suriyaa was arrested for derogatory remarks against another BJP woman leader.
Addressing reporters near Pallikaranai in Chennai, Daisy said she had refrained from speaking publicly for years because Annamalai was then the state president and she did not want to damage the BJP’s image.
However, following Annamalai’s recent exit from the BJP, she said she no longer felt the need to remain silent. “I was pressured, threatened, and repeatedly told not to speak about what had happened,” Daisy alleged.
She further alleged that the dispute began after Suriyaa objected to the prominence given to a BJP functionary Karuppu Muruganandam’s photograph on banners erected for a Minority wing event in Trichy.
According to her, the disagreement escalated into a heated exchange, after which Suriyaa allegedly directed abusive remarks at her as well.
Daisy said she recorded the conversation and forwarded the audio to Annamalai and other senior party functionaries, expecting disciplinary action. Instead, she alleged, Annamalai initially adopted a conciliatory approach and encouraged Suriyaa to apologise.
However, after the audio clip reached the media, Daisy alleged that Annamalai became hostile towards her. She claimed that he had summoned her to the party headquarters, Kamalalayam, and questioned her on how the recording had been leaked.
According to Daisy, he pressured her to resign from her post and repeatedly berated her during a closed-door meeting. She further alleged that Annamalai instructed both her and Suriyaa to publicly present the matter as resolved.
“We were told to say that the issue had been settled between us,” she claimed, adding that she felt compelled to cooperate with the party leadership at the time.
Referring to Annamalai’s departure from the BJP, Daisy alleged that he had “betrayed” the party leadership that had elevated him.
She also asked why corruption allegations raised by Annamalai through his “DMK files” campaign did not lead to legal or investigative action against the politicians he had named.
Daisy said she had not submitted a formal complaint against Annamalai to the BJP high command. According to her, party leaders had suggested treating the 2022 controversy as resolved internally.
Responding to questions from reporters, Daisy maintained that her criticism was directed at Annamalai and not the BJP as a whole. “The party is a good party. My criticism is about the selection of the wrong person for leadership,” she said.
Annamalai has not responded so far to Daisy’s allegations.