Chennai: “Even after the tragic incident in Karur in which 41 people lost their lives, no hasty arrest action was taken against TVK leader Vijay during the previous DMK regime. In the current regime, the tendency to immediately arrest opposition members for social media posts, public meeting speeches, and political criticism is increasing, which is not healthy for democracy,” said M.H. Jawahirullah, leader of the Manithaneya Makkal Katchi.
In a statement issued by him regarding this, ‘At the Cauvery rights restoration protest held in Thanjavur yesterday (August 3), Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin participated and spoke. Based on a remark said to have been made in his speech with a double meaning, the police have, on the complaint filed by members of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, hurriedly registered a case under six sections and arrested him. This is highly condemnable.
There is no disagreement that the controversial phrase used by the Leader of the Opposition in yesterday’s speech should have been avoided. However, the police action of treating it as a major offense and going so far as to arrest the Leader of the Opposition is excessive and contrary to democratic norms.
Moreover, the anticipatory bail petition filed in the High Court was taken up as an urgent matter, and while the court had stated that Udhayanidhi Stalin should not be arrested until noon, the police have arrested and taken him away, saying that they had not received any order. This is deeply concerning. Such an arrest carried out without regard for the court’s action raises legal questions, including contempt of court.
Moreover, in Arnesh Kumar v. State of Bihar (2014), the Supreme Court directed that persons accused of offences punishable with imprisonment of up to seven years should not be arrested mechanically, and that the police must first conduct an inquiry in accordance with the procedures prescribed by law and properly consider whether arrest is necessary.
In the presence of such Supreme Court guidelines, the hurried arrest of the Leader of the Opposition raises several legal doubts.
On the one hand, the Tamil Nadu government immediately takes arrest action based on the opposition leader’s speech; on the other hand, why has it taken no action in the matter where a minister belonging to the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam is said to have openly made harsh and objectionable remarks, including saying he would kill someone in his underwear? This double standard exposes the government’s biased approach.
Even after the tragic incident in Karur that claimed 41 lives, no hasty arrest action was taken against Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leader Vijay during the previous DMK regime. Upholding political civility, the DMK did not adopt an approach of jailing opposition leaders for their views.
However, under the current regime, the growing tendency to immediately arrest opposition figures for social media posts, public speeches, and political criticism is not healthy for democracy. This is not the hallmark of a people-friendly government either.
The Tamil Nadu government, which has shown no interest in taking the necessary serious action against the Karnataka government in the Cauvery-Mekedatu dam issue, is acting in haste to arrest the Leader of the Opposition, who raised his voice for Cauvery rights, and this is an act that hurts the sentiments of Tamil Nadu farmers.
With the legislative assembly session set to begin tomorrow, the impression among the people is that the Tamil Nadu government believes it can easily get past all issues by suppressing the voice of democracy through the arrest of the Leader of the Opposition.
The government should function by respecting the fundamental principles of democracy, rather than suppressing political criticism and dissent through arrests. Therefore, I urge the Tamil Nadu government to immediately release Opposition Leader Udhayanidhi Stalin and to abandon politically vindictive actions,” he said.
