Tamil Nadu BJP state secretary arrested for tweet against Madurai MP

Condemning the incident, the State BJP president K Annamalai said on Twitter, “The arrest of @BJP4TamilNadu State Secretary Thiru @SuryahSG avl is highly condemnable. His only mistake was to expose the nasty double standards of the communists, allies of DMK.”

“Using state machinery to curtail free speech & getting jittery for the slightest criticism is unbecoming of a democratically elected leader and, indeed, are signs of an autocratic leader in the making. Drawing inspiration from autocrats, TN CM Thiru @mkstalin is turning the state into a lawless jungle. These arrests will not deter us & we will continue to be bearers of the uncomfortable truth!” Annamalai tweeted.

Here’s what happened

Earlier, in a scathing letter aimed at Communist Party of India (CPI) Councilor Viswanathan, the BJP State secretary Suryah said an incident in which a sanitation worker from Madurai, Pennadam Parishad, died on the job as he was forced to work in faecal water due to which he developed an allergic reaction in his body.

In his letter, Suryah lashed out at Viswanathan for his double standards, for forcing the deceased sanitation worker to resort to manual scavenging despite being aware that it is prohibited by law. The letter was attached to his tweet by Suryah on his Twitter handle.

In the same tweet, Suryah attacked Madurai MP Venkatesan for his silence. “Your fake politics of separatism stinks worse than that cesspool, find a way to live as a human being, mate!” a rough translation of his tweet in Tamil read.

Suryah’s arrest comes after State minister Senthil Balaji was sent to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) till June 23, in connection with an alleged money laundering case by Chennai Metropolitan Session court on Friday. 

Senthil Balaji was arrested by the ED on Wednesday in connection with a cash for jobs scam dating back to the earlier Jayalalithaa-led AIADMK regime where he was transport minister

Senthil Balaji’s bail plea was rejected by the local court. Balaji’s counsel A Saravanan said the court has made it clear to the ED that Balaji cannot be shifted out of the hospital where he is currently undergoing treatment for heart-related issue.

Meanwhile, the ED has also summoned Senthil Balaji’s brother R V Ashok Kumar, personal assistant B Shanmugam and others for questioning next week in an alleged cash-for-jobs linked money laundering case.

(With inputs from ANI)

Updated: 17 Jun 2023, 09:18 AM IST