Chennai: “With the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly set to convene tomorrow, Udhayanidhi Stalin’s arrest has to be seen as an attempt to stifle the voices of the opposition and crush democracy,” said AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran.
In a statement issued by him on this, he said, “It is condemnable that someone holding the responsible post of Leader of the Opposition spoke irresponsibly in public. At the same time, the Tamil Nadu government’s action of hastily arresting Udhayanidhi Stalin using the police, in violation of the High Court’s directive, is also condemnable.
Law and order issues have arisen in Tamil Nadu as TVK members are staging various protests on one side condemning the speech of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly Opposition Leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, while DMK members are on the other side protesting against his arrest.
At a time when farmers who have lost their livelihoods due to the Mekedatu dam and the Cauvery water dispute, and the general public who are left bewildered and helpless by power cuts, rising electricity bills, and increasing prices, are all suffering from various hardships, it is regrettable that both the ruling party and the opposition are forgetting Tamil Nadu’s foremost issues and instead continuing personal attacks, low-level criticism, and abuses of power.
Meanwhile, with the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly set to convene tomorrow, Udhayanidhi Stalin’s arrest must be seen as an attempt to crush the voices of the opposition and democracy itself. Whatever the issue may be, the Tamil Nadu government’s practice of avoiding legal means and instead unleashing the police to misuse power is unacceptable in any way.
Therefore, I urge the police and Chief Minister Joseph Vijay to immediately release Opposition Leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, bring the tense situation that has arisen in Tamil Nadu due to his arrest under control, and restore law and order,” he said.
