CHENNAI: The convener of Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Tamil Nadu unit was arrested on Wednesday for supporting the comments made by actor Mansoor Ali Khan on the Chennai-Salem Greenfield Corridor project.
A team from the Salem district police arrested Vaseegaran at his house in Maduravoyal at around 6.30 am. The Salem police booked Vaseegaran following a complaint from a local Village Administrative Officer that his statements incited violence against government officials.
The particular statement was made by Vaseegaran on June 28 when he was speaking to a new website. He had commented that there was nothing wrong in actor Mansoor Ali Khan’s statement that he would “hack eight people” if the government implemented the project. “What is the crime in saying this? This is a normal statement,” Vaseegaran had told the news website. He also added that not just eight, he would rather say “hack 16 people” if the government went ahead.
Joseph Raja, general secretary of AAP TN unit, said, “There is nothing wrong in what he said. What will happen if you arrest everyone who is opposing the project? If speaking against the decision of the government is a crime, we are not in a democracy.”
Vaseegaran has been booked under various charges, including provoking riots and criminal intimidation. “A Village Administrative Officer Lingesh had lodged a complaint with the Karipatty police in Salem. Based on the complaint, we arrested Vaseegaran and handed him over to the Salem police,” said a senior officer attached to the intelligence wing of the Chennai city police. He was remanded in the Salem Central Prison.
(Inputs from M Sabari, Salem)