Remembering a late Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Tamil Nadu, who was hacked to death in 2013, senior party leader Narendra Modi on 19 March turned emotional and paused his speech for a brief period.
Modi, while addressing a public rally in Salem, recalled three personalities related to the district, including the late BJP leader KN Lakshmanan.
But when speaking about ‘Auditor’ Ramesh, he turned emotional. He said, as quoted by Hindustan Times, “Today, I remember Auditor Ramesh.” He then paused for a minute.
However, the crowd fell silent for a few seconds and then raised slogans in Modi’s support.
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Resuming his speech, PM Modi said, “Unfortunately, My Ramesh of Salem is not among us.”
“Ramesh worked hard for the party, day and night and he was a good orator. But he was killed,” he added as he paid tribute to the late BJP leader.
Apart from this, Narendra Modi also paid rich tributes to the late Lakshmanan, recalling his contributions to the party’s growth in Tamil Nadu.
“Lakshmanan ji role in the anti-emergency movement and participation in socio-cultural activities will always be remembered. His contribution to the expansion of the BJP in the state is unforgettable. He also started many schools in the state,” he added.
Setting his focus on the southern region, Modi led rallies in Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu on Monday as part of efforts to garner support for NDA candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Who was ‘Auditor’ Ramesh?
An auditor by profession, V Ramesh was a Salem-based state general secretary of the Bharatiya Janata Party. On 19 July 2013, he was attacked with sharp-edged weapons near his house by unidentified assailants. The 52-year-old BJP leader had gone to his office to discuss party affairs around 9 pm and was attacked by four persons while returning to his residence, police had said.
At that time, Modi was the Gujarat chief minister and he enquired about the murder.
Following the murder of Ramesh, tensions in the region erupted as protesters stoned five government buses and the authorities had to declare a holiday in schools.
According to an HT report, Narendra Modi, who was BJP’s prime ministerial face, didn’t offer any praise for then Tamil Nadu CM J Jayalalithaa in October 2013, during his rally in Tiruchi. State BJP leaders said that Modi was not too happy with the state government for the lack of progress in the probe into the killing of Auditor Ramesh.
With agency inputs.
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Published: 19 Mar 2024, 07:27 PM IST