CHENNAI: The DMK on Monday condemned the arrest of its Vilathikulam MLA G V Markandayan, with party president M K Stalin accusing the TVK government of targeting Opposition leaders, and warning police of “consequences”.
Markandayan has been accused of making controversial remarks against Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay during a thanksgiving meeting held at Kovilpatti (Thoothukudi district) late on Saturday.
In a statement on X, Stalin accused the government of lacking democratic values and alleged that the police were acting at the behest of the ruling dispensation. “The TVK government has been continuously hunting down former DMK ministers, MLAs and social media supporters who point out the mistakes and failures of the government,” he said. Questioning the government’s priorities, he asked why it was “quick to arrest political critics” while allegedly failing to act in other serious cases.
Taking a dig at police, he said, “Your duty is not to carry out unlawful instructions of those in power and please them. Act according to the law and your conscience. Otherwise, there will be consequences.”
Meanwhile, addressing reporters at Anna Arivalayam (party headquarters), DMK organising secretary R S Bharathi said the party would not be intimidated by arrests or criminal cases.
“The DMK has faced the Emergency. We have gone to prison for protecting the country and the Tamil language. If someone has made a defamatory remark, file a case and let the court decide. Why arrest them? These arrests are only intended to harass DMK leaders and those who criticise the government,” he added.
Separately, Minister Vanni Arasu, in a post on X, alleged that the DMK MLA had incited violence by saying he would “break the bones” of the CM inside the Assembly. Stating that such conduct had no place in democratic politics, he urged the Assembly Speaker to initiate action against Markandayan.
BJP state chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy welcomed the Vilathikulam MLA’s arrest for the alleged abusive remarks against the CM, apart from strongly criticising the DMK leadership for opposing the action.
In a statement, Thirupathy said Markandayan’s remarks, including threats and abusive language directed at the CM, were highly condemnable and unbecoming of an elected representative. He accused the DMK leadership of hypocrisy, alleging that a party which often speaks of “duty, dignity and discipline” is now defending indecent political attacks. Such an attitude would only damage the DMK’s credibility, he said.