Following the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party State president L. Murugan in Tiruvallur, the party cadre led by State treasurer S.R. Seghar staged a protest at Gandhipuram in the city.
Mr. Seghar charged the State Government with cowing down to the pressure from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and other opposition parties in denying permission for the ‘Vetrivel Yatra’.
The AIADMK government had denied permission for the Yatra also because it wanted to match the DMK in appeasing minority and was keen to show its secular credentials, he said.
Besides, COVID-19 safety guideline was violated in several political meetings where State ministers had participated. Even during Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami’s visit to Coimbatore on Thursday, the AIADMK had violated the guideline by allowing several people to gather to greet him, he said.
The Government should have acted only if the BJP had taken out the ‘Vetrivel Yatra’ without following the guideline, he said.
After the party workers marched towards the Gandhipuram Bus Stand, the Coimbatore City Police prevented them from proceeding further. After a while, the cadre dispersed from the place, Mr. Seghar added.
Party workers detained in Pollachi
Around 350 BJP workers were detained by the Coimbatore rural police after they attempted to lay siege to Sub-Collector’s office at Pollachi to condemn Tamil Nadu Government’s stand against the party’s ‘Vetrivel Yatra’. The protesters were then shifted to a private auditorium.
According to police, the party workers were detained as they assembled at the Sub-Collector’s office in violation of safety guidelines that are in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The Tiruppur city police, on Friday, removed over 200 people who participated in a protest staged by the BJP demanding permission for the ‘Vetrivel Yatra’ near the New Bus terminus here.
During the course of the protest, a man holding the BJP flag climbed up a mobile phone tower in the vicinity.
The Tiruppur North police said that they held talks with the man and made him climb down from the tower. Following this, the Tiruppur North police removed all the protesters.
The protest took place prior to the visit of Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami to Tiruppur for a review meeting.
