MADURAI: Tamil Nadu police on Friday arrested senior DMK leader and Tuticorin MLA Anitha R Radhakrishnan for making an allegedly defamatory speech on the personal life of chief minister C Joseph Vijay.The arrest, on charges of “intentional insult to provoke breach of peace and public mischief”, came moments after Madras high court denied him anticipatory bail in the case. After questioning him for more than five hours, he was taken to a magistrate in Tuticorin. While being escorted to a police vehicle, the former minister alleged that he was asked to resign as MLA and join TVK by those who interrogated him.“I will always be a DMK man, and will never leave my party,” he shouted. He was later granted bail.DMK president and former chief minister M K Stalin, leader of opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin and DMK MP K Kanimozhi condemned Radhakrishnan’s arrest, calling it the height of high-handedness.Police said the case stemmed from a speech delivered by Radhakrishnan at a public meeting in Authoor, near Tiruchendur, on June 20 during the birth anniversary celebrations of former CM M Karunanidhi.‘Vijay running a police state like in action film’Anticipating arrest, he approached Madras high court seeking anticipatory bail, but the court dismissed his petition on Friday.Subsequently, police arrested Anitha R Radhakrishnan when he visited a govt office to inspect development 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 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!” Stalin asked why the TVK govt has not yet taken any action on the complaint lodged by a gang-rape survivor against Srivaikundam TVK MLA, and shown this urgency in that case. “Arrogance is the path to destruction,” Stalin said.Udhayanidhi said, “The sofa model govt has shown speed in arresting an opposition MLA — speed that was not shown to restore law and order 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 opposition party can be shut down through false cases and arrests, will never come true.”In a social media post, Kanimozhi said, “The TVK govt has arrested an opposition MLA while he was on inspection duty in his constituency in an arbitrary manner. DMK will never succumb to such oppression.”
