Chennai, Oct 21:
Police on Tuesday arrested Naam Tamizhar Katchi (NTK) candidate Ms.M.Karthika, who had unsuccessfully contested the October 6 Dharapuram Assembly bypoll, and nine others for allegedly staging protests obstructing the road show of TVK Founder and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay during campaigning, even as political parties strongly condemned it and termed the government’s action as politically motivated and an act of vendetta.
Along with Karthika, her husband and eight other NTK functionaries were arrested in Coimbatore in an early morning swoop.
Meanwhile, leaders of opposition parties, including NTK, DMK, AIADMK, PMK and AMMK condemned the arrest of Karthika and questioned the reason for acting now on a case registered during the bypoll campaigning.
NTK founder and convener Seeman strongly condmned the arrest and termed it as an act of political vendetta. He also demanded to stop taking such politically vindictive action and urged the government to release all the arrested.
Principal opposition DMK President and former chief minister M K Stalin condemned her arrest in connection with a case registered during the bypoll and accused the ruling TVK of indulging in political vendetta and authoritarianism. Drawing a parallel with the BJP-led government at the Centre, he said the competition to protect accused persons and arrest those who protested was now between the BJP in Delhi and the TVK in Tamil Nadu.
Demanding the unconditional release of Karthika and other NTK functionaries, Stalin alleged that the government was using arrests to intimidate political opponents and deflect attention from its administrative failures.
He further alleged that the arrests were aimed at diverting public attention from a major drug-trafficking case involving a sacked TVK functionary and his associates, and from the government’s administrative failures. He also accused the ruling party of shielding those allegedly involved in threatening journalists and in a gang rape case.
In a statement, AIADMK also condemned the arrest of Karthika and had a dig at the TVK government for targeting political opponents using cases registered during the election period.
PMK President and Rajya Sabha MP Dr.Abumani Ramadoss, in a statement, said police have arrested 10 people, including Karthika. It is condemnable that the police came in the early hours of the morning and arrested the Naam Tamilar candidate, her husband and other officials for a case registered during the Assembly election.
During the election campaign, the NTK candidate and others staged protests, claiming that their campaign was obstructed by the government machinery. It is unnecessary to arrest Karthika and others in the cases registered at that time and urge the government to immediately release Karthika and others.