TN BJP leaders detained after dharna demanding Nellai Kannan’s arrest

The Chennai Police detained BJP leaders Pon Radhakrishnan, La Ganesan, CP Radhakrishnan and H Raja for sitting on a dharna at Marina Beach on Wednesday (January 1).

The BJP leaders, on Tuesday, had demanded that Nellai Kannan be arrested for his derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.

After police inaction, BJP workers on Wednesday, from the state including leaders H Raja, former Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, former State President of BJP CP Radhakrishnan and BJP National Council Member La Ganesan reached Marina Beach around 4.15 pm and sat in dharna in front of the Gandhi statue.

Sitting on a dharna, the group raised slogans urging the police to arrest Nellai Kannan immediately. After which, the police detained the four main leaders of the state’s BJP unit and took them away to a wedding hall in Mylapore.

According to the police, Kannan had participated in a protest meeting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), called by Social Democratic Party of India on December 29 in Tirunelveli where he had allegedly spoken “finishing-off” Modi and Shah.

“I was expecting these people to end Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. But, it did not happen. No one here is doing it,” Kannan had said in his speech.

He also alleged that Modi was a “small boy” and it was Amit Shah who was “controlling him.”

A day after the meeting, the video clip of Kannan’s speech went viral. Subsequently, based on a complaint from a BJP cadre, Tirunelveli police registered a case against him but did not make any arrest.

நெல்லை கண்ணனை கைது செய்யக்கோரி 1.1.2020 மாலை 3.00 மணிக்கு மெரினா கடற்கரை காந்தி சிலை அருகே திரு.LG, பொன்னார், CPR மற்றும் நான் Sit in Dharna மேற்கொள்கிறோம் என்பதை தெரிவித்துக் கொள்கிறேன்.

— H Raja (@HRajaBJP) December 31, 2019

To make matters worse, BJP workers also stopped the ambulance, which was taking Kannan to hospital on Monday (December 30), after he fell ill. However, it was only after the intervention of a few locals that Kannan was admitted to a hospital nearby.

(With input from agencies)