BJP delegation meets TN Governor, says state govt ignoring constitutional provisions

Chennai, Oct 28 (PTI) A four-member BJP delegation led by former Karnataka Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda called on Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi here on Saturday and submitted a memorandum highlighting atrocities and harassment of their cadres allegedly by the police.

Since the DMK came to power, about 409 cases have been registered against the BJP cadres and Chief Minister M K Stalin is running a government against the people ignoring the constitutional provisions, Gowda later alleged.

"A fear psychosis is being created against the BJP workers who are being harassed," the BJP leader told reporters after meeting the Governor along with Satyapal Singh, MP, D Purandeswari, Andhra Pradesh BJP president, and P C Mohan, MP, Bengaluru Central.

The BJP effectively addressed such tactics in Kerala and West Bengal in the past and in Tamil Nadu too, the party would overcome the problems, he opined.

"I want to tell Stalin, please don't play games with our cadres. Just because you are in power, don't think you can use the police and manhandle our karyakartas and restrict our political activity... this will not be tolerated," he said.

The delegation, on a visit to the state, met the families of the BJP workers arrested for protesting against the removal of the flagpole by the police from near the residence of party president K Annamalai in Panaiyur recently.

The police detained about 120 party workers, including 19 women members, in a marriage hall for protesting and cases were registered against six of them under non bailable sections in a bid to disrupt Annamalai's statewide padayatra, claimed Purandeswari.

In several instances, the police booked cases under the SCT Atrocities Act against the BJP members and were unwilling to accept the complaints from the BJP members, she claimed.

"Such is the situation in Tamil Nadu where the government wants to frighten and threaten our karyakartas to prevent them from working. Stalin is behaving as if he is the Chief Minister of the DMK and not Tamil Nadu. His prime duty is to safeguard all the citizens," she told reporters.

The party members were humiliated and jailed, said Gowda, and he claimed that only the flagpole was erected on a compound wall and no flag was hoisted.

The delegation had sought the Governor to seek an explanation from the Chief Secretary and senior police officials about the incident. It would submit a comprehensive report to the party's national president J P Nadda soon. PTI JSP KH