Activists of Paatali Makkal Katchi (PMK) on Monday staged a demonstration in front of the Collectorate demanding the transfer of Superintendent of Police Vijayakumar for banning the party campaign for the Parliamentary elections.
Led by the party’s State joint secretary N K Murali, the members alleged that false cases were being foisted on PMK cadre and leaders while the their candidate for Arakonam was banned from undertaking the campaign.
Murali said the SP had taken this decision in a partisan manner to ban PMK candidate from undertaking campaign for 75 days since December 2013 under section 30(2) of the Police Act.
While all the party leaders were campaigning across the country without any restriction, it was unfair and unjust to impose a ban on PMK in Arakonam constituency citing reasons that it would lead to communal disturbance, he said.
Former Union Minister N T Shanmugam noted that the party had lodged four complaints with the district police when the vehicles of the Lok Sabha candidate R Velu were attacked by VCK cadre recently but no action had been taken by the police so far.
Former Union Minister R Velu who is the party candidate for Arakonam constituency, in his speech, said that Vellore has been a peace- loving and orderly district and had not witnessed communal disturbances like in the southern districts. He said that banning PMK candidate from campaigning was partisan and this attitude must change. He said that petitions against the SP had been submitted to the district collector, SP, IG of police, chief election officer in this regard highlighting the ‘discriminatory and indifferent attitude’ of the SP towards the PMK and its functionaries. The State government must intervene and transfer SP immediately, he added.