MADURAI/CHENNAI: Senior DMK leader and Tuticorin MLA Anitha R Radhakrishnan has become the first ex-DMK minister to be arrested by the TVK govt in Tamil Nadu. He was taken into custody on Friday by a modest posse of cops from Authoor station in Tuticorin district, in connection with a speech delivered on June 20 by the ex-minister against chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s personal life.The arrest, on charges of intentional insult to provoke breach of peace and public mischief, came moments after Madras high court declined to grant him anticipatory bail in the case.After questioning him for over five hours, Anitha Radhakrishnan was taken to a jurisdictional magistrate in Tuticorin. While being escorted to the waiting police vehicle, the ex-minister alleged that he was asked to resign as MLA and was asked to join the ruling TVK by those who interrogated him. “I will always be a DMK man, and will never leave my party,” he shouted to the reporters. DMK president and former chief minister M K Stalin, former deputy chief minister and the current leader of opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, and DMK MP and parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi, who represents Tuticorin parliamentary constituency, condemned Anitha Radhakrishnan’s arrest, calling it height of high-handedness. Police said the case stemmed from a speech delivered by Anitha Radhakrishnan at a public meeting held in Authoor, near Tiruchendur, on June 20 during the birth anniversary celebrations of former chief minister M Karunanidhi. Anticipating arrest, he approached the Madras high court seeking anticipatory bail. However, the court dismissed his petition on Friday.Following the court order, police arrested the MLA when he visited a govt office to inspect ongoing developmental works. DMK cadres and functionaries accompanying him surrounded the police personnel and attempted to prevent them from taking him away in a police vehicle. They also raised slogans against the TVK govt. Condemning the arrest, Stalin said: “The ‘Take Diversion’ govt has arrested former minister Anitha Radhakrishnan for defaming the chief minister. The chief minister is running a police state in the style of an action movie!” He also questioned why the TVK govt had not yet taken any action on the complaint lodged by a woman, who was a victim of gang rape, against a Srivaikundam TVK MLA and shown this urgency in that case and said, “Arrogance is the path to destruction!” Udhayanidhi Stalin said: “The SofaModel govt has shown the speed in arresting the opposition MLA, a speed that has not been shown to restore the law and order situation that has deteriorated across Tamil Nadu. People are watching this anarchic trend of the ruling party, which believes that politics is only about slandering and spreading false accusations. The idea of this reels govt, which thinks that the party can be shut down through false cases and arrests, will never come true.“ Kanimozhi on her X post said, “The TVK govt has arrested an opposition MLA while he was on inspection duty in his constituency in an arbitrary manner. The DMK will never succumb to such oppression.”
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