A woman in Tiruppur’s Aathupalayam was subjected to physical and verbal abuse by a group of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members when she allegedly questioned them about the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The woman, identified as Sangeetha, is a member of the political outfit Dravidar Viduthalai Kazhagam. She raised the questions about GST when the BJP cadre was campaigning for the party’s Tiruppur’s candidate AP Muruganandam on Thursday, April 11.
In a video that has gone viral on social media, Sangeetha is seen being accused by the BJP cadre for trying to disrupt their campaign. One person used disparaging language against Sangeetha to ask why she questioned them on GST. Around three men could be seen at the entrance of what appears to be a shop, using slurs against Sangeetha. The video shows Sangeetha recording the incident before the phone falls down. Someone in the vicinity picks it up while Sangeetha could be heard saying that one of the men had hit her. However, the video does not explain what Sangeetha had asked.
In a later video, Sangeetha explained that only two party cadres were campaigning for Muruganandam but he was not present. She also mentioned that many people had raised questions on why GST is imposed on essential items like rice and gas cylinders. Sangeetha added, “They were claiming that women’s rights had improved in Modi’s term and that is when I asked why there is GST on sanitary napkins. Soon, other people also began to raise questions. I came back to my shop and ten people entered shortly after. They spoke to me disparagingly and a person named Chinnasamy attacked me.”
It is to be noted that sanitary napkins have been exempted from GST since July 2018.
According to reports, Sangeetha filed a police complaint in the Velampalayam police station and has named 15 people. Investigation is underway.