AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

NT Bureau
Chennai, Aug 24:

FOLLOW THE FLARED UP MEN: Policemen chasing away the agitated AIADMK workers near Poes Garden. Photo: M Srinivasan

DOUSEFULL: Cops putting out the fire set off on an effigy by the TNCC men near Moolakothalam. Photo: R Thiyagarajan

        Anxiety and suspense gripped the Poes Garden area in the city today as MLAs of the Congress and the main opposition AIADMK nearly came to blows when a group of Tamilnadu Congress Committee (TNCC) men attempted to stage a demonstration before the residence of AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa.

        Trouble began this morning when a group of Congress men led by legislators Vishnu Prasad and Arul Anbarasu started proceeding towards the house of Jayalalithaa from Binny Road by raising protest slogans against the AIADMK leader.

        When AIADMK workers came to know this, a large number of them under MLA Kalairajan and Arujunan are said to have chased the Congress men with lathis, creating a panic in the area.

        However, police intervened at the right time and dispersed the AIADMK group and took the Congress MLAs and workers into custody. By then, several other AIADMK leaders including MLAs Jayakumar and Sekar Babu arrived at the trouble spot and began shouting slogans.

        Luckily, even as a section of AIADMK workers began banging the police van, an alert driver sped away taking the Congress workers to safety. However, tension escalated again for sometime, when some Congress workers burn the effigies of Jayalalitha.

        As rumour spread that Congress men were attacked, party workers started arriving at Binny Road in vans and private vehicles. Police officials pacified and turned them away with much difficulty.

        Besides putting the police on tenterhooks, the demonstration and counterattack drama also created problems for road users.

        The source of it all could be traced to AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa's strong statement against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the N-deal. It may be noted that the AIADMK leader asked Singh to immigrate to the USA with his family and naturally it invited a sharp reaction from the TNCC.

        TNCC President M Krishnaswamy and Congress Legislature Party Leader (CLP) D Sudarsanam strongly objected to the remarks of Jayalalithaa and wanted her to take back her words. Sudarsanam also made it clear that they would stage demonstrations if this was not done.

        In this backdrop, Cheyyar MLA and son of TNCC president Vishnu Prasad and Arul Anbarasu, led a group of Congress men to protest against Jayalalithaa.

        Meanwhile, addressing mediapersons here today, Vishnu Prasad, Arul Anbarasu, and Vijayakumar another Congress MLA, urged the Tamilnadu government to arrest Jayalalithaa for her unseemly remarks against the Prime Minister and cautioned that they would be resorting to agitation against the AIADMK in all the 35 constituencies represented by the Congress. They also said that effigies of Jayalalithaa would be burnt during the demonstrations.