The Madras High Court on Friday reserved orders on a plea by an office-bearer of the Viduthalai Chiruthaikal Katchi (VCK) seeking an injunction restraining the police from granting permission to the BJP to hold a public meeting at Vandalur here on February 8.
The BJP’s prime ministerial candidate and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is expected to participate.
The First Bench comprising Chief Justice R.K.Agrawal and Justice K.Ravichandrabaabu reserved orders after hearing R.Sankarasubbu, senior counsel for the petitioner.
In the public interest litigation petition, Gowthama Sannah, an advocate and propaganda secretary of the VCK, submitted that the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit is to hold the public meeting in a thickly-populated area which would not accommodate more than 2000 people. If the number was more, there would be traffic disruption, causing inconvenience to the public. If permission was granted, there was likelihood of breach of peace and law and order problem in the area. The petitioner said that there was no necessity for the BJP to hold the public meeting in the guise of election campaign when there was no official announcement of elections to the Lok Sabha.
He had already given a representation to the Election Commission on January 27 and the Tamil Nadu Home Secretary among others.
The main prayer in the writ petition was for a direction to the Chief Election Commissioner to initiate appropriate action against the BJP and Mr.Modi for violating the Representation of the People Act and the Lok Sabha Election Rules for announcing the prime ministerial candidate before the elections and conducting the party campaign.
