DMK stages ‘go back governor’ march to Raj Bhavan, but cops block them in Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI: Demanding recall of Governor Banwarilal Purohit in the wake of an assistant professor mentioning his name while luring girl students for sexual favours in exchange for money and marks, Principal Opposition DMK staged a spirited protest, trying to lay siege to the Raj Bhavan at Guindy here on Wednesday. But the police foiled their plan by blocking and detaining them.Led by Saidapet MLA M Subramanian, the DMK men took out a march from Saidapet to the Raj Bhavan, raising slogans against the Governor. The police blocked them near the court at Chinnamalai, even as a few of the angry protesters tried to breach the barricades and run towards the Raj Bhavan. The police personnel soon detained the protesters, including Subramanian and ‘Vagai’ Chandrasekar, MLA.
“When he himself is facing charges, he assumed powers and ordered inquiry only with a view to letting the assistant professor go off the hook,” the former Chennai mayor alleged, saying the Governor had crossed all limits of his powers and laws. Subramanian also flayed Purohit for his patting on the cheek of a woman journalist, which has evoked widespread outrage, saying it was a shame on his part.
Unfit for holding office: Stalin
Declaring that the protests against Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit would continue, DMK working president MK Stalin on Wednesday urged him to step down or the Centre should sack him.
Launching a scathing attack on the Governor for the way he had ordered a probe on the issue of alleged luring of college girls by an assistant professor, he said, “From the way he had ordered a probe, oblivious of the existence of a State government and a Chief Minister, as if the State was under President’s Rule, he had been rendered unfit for holding the office of Governor.”
Stalin said the protests would continue until either he resigned or is removed by the Centre.
Only the Chief Minister should respond to the Governor’s statement that the State government had no authority to order a probe on the issue, he said, while replying to a question.Stalin lamented that it was a shame for Tamil Nadu to have a Governor who patted the cheek of a woman journalist in an indecent manner.Meanwhile, PMK founder S Ramadoss urged the Governor not to give room for screening of evidence on the issue of luring of girls for sexual exploitation.
“If he has not committed any wrongdoing, he should try to explore ways to prove his innocence,” he said. Ramadoss also wanted to know the rationale behind Purohit holding a press conference on the issue when he had chosen to observe stoic silence on burning issues including Cauvery water sharing dispute.
The TVK cadre, led by its founder T Velmurugan, also attempted to picket the Raj Bhavan. But, police blocked them and whisked them away.