COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore District police arrested DMK working president M K Stalin on Thursday morning while proceeding to Salem from the city airport. He was however released in the evening.
Stalin was due to visit Kacharayan Kuttai lake in the Chief Minister’s constituency of Edappadi, which was desilted by DMK cadre. In the evening, he was to participate in a human chain protest against the NEET exam, being organised in Salem city by opposition parties.
Stalin arrived at the Coimbatore International Airport in from Chennai in the morning. The police arrested him at the Kaniyur toll gate while on his way to Salem in a car.
At the toll gate, over 300 police personnel headed by Coimbatore SP P Murthy stopped Stalin from proceeding further, saying that permission had been denied for the human chain protest at Salem.
They showed him Salem City Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar’s order in this regard.
Later, speaking to reporters, Stalin said, “The government led by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is creating a law and order problem to defeat human chain protest called by DMK over NEET issue.”
“The Chief Minister and his ministers visited the national capital and met Prime Minister Modi only after the DMK announced its human chain protest against NEET. But they capitulated before the Prime Minister and we do not know what passed between them or about the status of our demand,” he added.
The human chain protests scheduled to be held in Salem, Erode and Namakkal districts on Thursday have been cancelled, but they will be conducted next week, he said.
On his visit to the Kacharayan Kuttai lake, Stalin said, “DMK cadre have desilted the lake and the work was widely appreciated by the public. I was scheduled to visit the spot. The DMK Salem secretary had requested me to visit the place. However, the police arrested me without giving a valid reason,” said Stalin.
HC stays order refusing permission for protest
Chennai: The operation of an order dated July 26 of Salem Police Commissioner refusing permission to DMK to hold a human-chain to protest against NEET, has been stayed by the Madras High Court. Party senior counsel R Shanmugasundaram told the judge that police are wantonly passing rejection orders at the eleventh hour, leaving no time to approach the court for necessary relief.
‘AIADMK damaging lake bunds and selling mud’
Coimbatore: Stalin expressed unhappiness over ruling party workers allegedly damaging Kacharayan Kuttai lake’s bunds with police support on Thursday. “AIADMK members damaged the bunds and are selling the mud,” he alleged. He said that though he had asked for a white paper on the status of government’s desilting works, undertaken at a cost of D300 crore, he did not get any response.
Over 2,500 DMK men arrested for agitations
Salem: Road blockades took place in various parts of Salem district immediately after Stalin’s arrest. Over 2,600 DMK men and 135 women were detained by the police.A massive protest was held opposite Salem collectorate under DMK Salem MLA-cum-Central District secretary R Rajenderan. Similar protests were held in 14 places in the rural towns, including Sankagiri, Omalur, Attur and Valapadi.