Hundreds of BJP cadre staged protest across the State on Tuesday, condemning VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan for his alleged remarks against women. Nearly 1,500 BJP cadre were arrested across Cuddalore district on Tuesday, when they tried to participate in a protest planned in Chidambaram against Thirumavalavan.
The police had earlier denied permission to hold an agitation against Thirumavalavan near the Gandhi statue in Chidambaram on Tuesday. Police officials, including North Zone IG Nagarajan, Villupuram Zone DIG Ezhilarasan and Cuddalore Superintendent of Police M Sree Abhinav held a discussion in Chidambaram on Monday night.
Despite permission being denied, several BJP functionaries tried to stage a protest in Chidambaram. Hundreds of police personnel were deployed across the district to defuse tension. BJP’s Chidambaram west wing president KPT Elanchezhiyan, along with several party cadre, was arrested by the Sethiyathope police on Tuesday while they were on their way to Chidambaram. Party cadre were also arrested in nearly 20 regions across the district, sources said.
VCK’s Bala Aravazhi, along with 50 of his party cadre, was also taken into preventive detention, sources said. The party cadre, who had sought permission to hold a meeting with Thirumavalavan in Chidambaram on Wednesday, were denied permission. In Villupuram, BJP and VCK cadre were arrested after they allegedly clashed over a protest planned by the saffron party against Thirumavalavan in Villupuram.
BJP cadre planned to stage protest opposite the Collectorate on Tuesday. Police detained BJP district president VAT Kalivardhan and women’s wing secretary Saranya as a preventive measure at Kaanai and VCK’s district secretary (North) Cheran at Gingee on Tuesday morning. However, around 2 pm a few members of the BJP gathered near the Collectorate to stage protest when a group of VCK members clashed with them, police said.
Express tried to contact Kalivardhan, but he was unavailable for a comment. VCK’s district secretary (East) Aatralarasu told Express, “If it were any other issue based on ideology or crisis, we would have been calm. But, the BJP cadres were insulting our leader, which is unbearable.” Meanwhile, BJP cadre also staged demonstrations across Vellore on Tuesday.
Vellore district women’s wing president Krishnakumari presided over the stir held opposite the Collectorate at Sathuvachari. In Tirupattur, the party’s district president C Vasudevan led the protest in front of the Collectorate. Similar protests were held in Tiruvannamalai and Ranipet districts. Tension prevailed at Muthukadai bus stand in Ranipet when a group of VCK men gathered to stage a demonstration countering the BJP cadre. However, the police dispersed them.
Similar scenes were witnessed in Tiruvannamalai, where BJP and VCK cadre raised slogans against each other near the Collectorate. In Salem, over 250 BJP cadre, including functionaries from women’s wing and SC/ST wing, were arrested when they gathered before the Collectorate and staged a demonstration against Thirumavalavan.
They were retained in a marriage hall and released in the evening. In Krishnagiri, BJP cadre, including 250 women functionaries, staged a protest in front of the Collectorate against Thirumavalavan. Similarly, the party cadre also staged a protest in Dharmapuri in front of the BSNL office. Police in Thoothukudi arrested over 160 BJP cadre for protesting against Thirumavalavan.
As many as 580 BJP cadre who were travelling towards Chidambaram were arrested in Sirkazhi and Mayiladuthurai on Tuesday. Among them, 480 were arrested in Sirkazhi and 100 in Mayiladuthurai. BJP cadre also staged protests near Nagapattinam Collectorate.In Nagercoil, BJP women cadre protested in front of the Collectorate. In Thoothukudi, police arrested 161 BJP cadre.
(With inputs from Cuddalore, Villupuram,Vellore, Salem,Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Thoothukudi, Thanjavur, Nagercoil and Thoothukudi)