His other vow, announced Thursday, was that he would not wear footwear until the DMK was ousted from power – and, accordingly, he was barefoot during his self-lashing.

Tamil Nadu BJP president Annamalai was also seen barefoot following his vow to not wear footwear until the DMK was ousted from power.

The rape of an Anna University second-year student, appallingly inside the campus, has snowballed into a political controversy in Tamil Nadu. The DMK government has been forced to the back foot as the opposition mounted pressure on the government for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.

After Gnanasekaran's arrest, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) have accused the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party. Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai alleged that Gnanasekaran is a DMK worker with a history of similar offenses.

Tamil Nadu Minister S Regupathy has denied any links between the accused in the Anna University sexual assault case and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Add

Calling the DMK an “evil force,” Annamalai urged the middle class to rise and question the government. He demanded the sacking of the Chennai city police commissioner or at least the deputy commissioner over the Anna University case.

The BJP leader, showing photographs of the accused with DMK leaders, alleged that he was a ruling party's student wing office-bearer.

The renowned campus of Anna University in Chennai was recently marred by a harrowing incident that has raised grave concerns about student safety. On December 25, a second-year engineering student was sexually assaulted by a 37-year-old intruder,

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has claimed that the suspect apprehended for the sexual assault on a 19-year-old student from Anna University in Chennai is a "repeat offender and a DMK (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) functionary".

Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai protested against the DMK government, accusing it of failing to protect Anna University students and leaking a victim's personal details. Criticizing the lack of CCTV surveillance and misuse of the Nirbhaya fund,