Chennai, Apr 18 (IANS): BJP National Secretary H. Raja triggered a new controversy on Wednesday when he made a veiled attack on DMK MP Kanimozhi, calling her an "illegitimate" child of party chief M. Karunanidhi.

"Would journalists question the leader who made his illegitimate child, from an illegitimate relationship, a Rajya Sabha MP, just like they questioned the Governor? Memories of Chidambaram Udayakumar, Anna Nagar Ramesh, Perambalur Sadiq Basha would haunt them," Raja tweeted without taking Kanimozhi's name. But the hint was obvious.

Kanimozhi is the daughter of Karunanidhi's third wife Rajathi and Raja's reference to "memories" of some incidents relate to some infamous deaths that had occurred during various periods of DMK rule in the state.

His tweet followed Kanimozhi's support to a woman journalist who was critical of Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit for patting her on her cheeks at the end of a press conference in Raj Bhawan on Tuesday.

The Governor has since apologized to the journalist, Lakshmi Subramanian, who accepted it but said she was not convinced that he patted her cheeks by way of appreciating her question.

Kanimozhi on Tuesday tweeted: "Even if the intention is above suspicion, a person who holds a public office has to understand that there is a decorum to it and violating a woman journalist's personal space does not reflect the dignity or the respect which should be shown to any human being."

The DMK MP reacted to Raja's tweet saying she would not respond to him nor would she stoop so low like Raja.