For the second time in a month, a DMK legislator in Tamil Nadu has been arrested over alleged remarks against Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay. Police detained DMK MLA G V Markandeyan from Vilathikulam at his home on Monday morning and formally placed him under arrest.
What led to the arrest
A public meeting was organised in the Vilathikulam constituency of Thoothukudi district, led by MLA Markandeyan, to mark the birth anniversary of former CM and DMK chief Karunanidhi. During this gathering, Markandeyan allegedly used derogatory words against CM Vijay, prompting members of the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, or TVK, to file a complaint. Once the complaint was registered, police arrived in force at Markandeyan's residence in the Vilathikulam area, took him into custody and arrested him. A heavy police deployment has been put in place in the area to maintain law and order, and further action in the case is still underway.
Slogans outside his residence during the arrest
According to a police official, Markandeyan was taken into custody directly from his residence. During the process, his supporters gathered outside his home and shouted slogans protesting the police action. Amid the commotion, police later formally recorded his arrest. The official clarified that the action followed a complaint by an office-bearer of the ruling TVK, making clear that the case is directly tied to the public meeting where Markandeyan made the disputed remarks.
P Kashiram's complaint and the charges filed
TVK office-bearer P Kashiram lodged a police complaint alleging that on July 18, while addressing a public meeting in Kovilpatti in Thoothukudi district, MLA Markandeyan made threatening and insulting remarks against the Chief Minister. Based on this complaint, police booked Markandeyan under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, or BNS, which include criminal intimidation, intentionally insulting someone with intent to breach public peace, and spreading false information. In other words, the MLA faces charges that go beyond mere insult, extending to intimidation and circulating misleading information.
MLA claimed he could not be arrested without permission
In a video that went viral on social media, Markandeyan was heard arguing that as an MLA, he could not be arrested without the permission of the Speaker of the Assembly. Police, however, persuaded him and took him to the police station regardless, while his supporters continued to protest outside his residence against the police action.
Second such action in the district this month
This is not the first time a DMK MLA from Thoothukudi district has faced action over remarks critical of CM Vijay. Earlier, on July 6, DMK MLA Anitha Radhakrishnan was also arrested in the same district. In the same sequence of events, Anitha R Radhakrishnan, a former state minister who represents the Tiruchendur assembly seat in the district, was arrested on July 3 for allegedly making defamatory comments against CM Vijay. This marks the second consecutive arrest of a DMK legislator from Thoothukudi district, stirring fresh political turbulence in the state.
DMK calls it an act of vendetta
The DMK has reacted sharply to Markandeyan's arrest. The party condemned the action and accused the ruling government of targeting opposition legislators out of a spirit of vendetta. The party said that two arrests of its MLAs within the same month show the government is trying to suppress dissenting voices.
