TVK Leader Vijay Accuses DMK of Obstructing TVK Campaign
In a blow to its maiden campaign in Chennai to kickstart the Assembly Polls, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) alleged that the Chennai Police Department had denied permission for Vijay’s rally in Perambur on Saturday.
“The planned campaign by TVK has been obstructed by the Chennai City Police Department and certain officials, which constitutes a fascist attack on democracy,” the party said in a social media post on Friday evening.
“While permission for the event was sought two days prior to the event on March 26, the Chennai Corporation has suddenly dug a trench at that location and erected iron barricades…In this situation, the police conducted an inspection and stated that 3,000 people could not gather there.
Based on this, permission has now been denied on the grounds that the location is not suitable for campaigning,” the official account of the party said. “This very obstruction serves as evidence of the extent to which the DMK fears the TVK. Therefore, it is certain that the people of Tamil Nadu will send the ‘anti-democratic’ DMK regime back home in the upcoming Assembly elections,” it added.
Speaking to mediapersons on Friday, Chennai District Election Officer and GCC commission J Kumaragurubaran IAS on Friday said political parties or individuals must apply on the Election Commission’s Suvidha Portal before 48 hours of the rally for permissions along with necessary approvals from Public Works Department and police department.
“The concerned Returning Officer will consult with all these other agencies before granting permission. Permissions have been going on via the portal, they are assessed by Returning Officer, and if rejected, the reasons are communicated to the concerned applicant,” he said. He did not specify what had transpired in the case of Vijay’s rally.
Separately, TVK in another announcement said that a state-level meeting of party functionaries is scheduled to be held on Sunday at a popular private hotel in Chennai. The party leader Vijay will participate in this meeting to introduce candidates for the 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and the 30 Assembly constituencies in Puducherry, it added.