Anbumani slams cops for denying permission to all events over one incident

CHENNAI: Claiming that the police have cancelled permissions already given to political parties for conducting campaigns, PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss criticised it, saying that banning all the political events based on one incident goes against democracy. In a statement, Anbumani noted that, based on an order issued by the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court regarding the Karur stampede, permissions have been cancelled for parties, including the PMK. "Based on the interim order, my meetings have been cancelled in Madurai and Tirunelveli. Public meetings are allowed at the outskirts of cities. The police claim that they cannot take a call until Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are established. This amounts to strangling the voice of political parties," he added.

While accepting the court's order that mandated political parties and organisers to arrange for safety, including ambulances and water, for the crowd, Anbumani recalled that the PMK had conducted several meetings with lakhs of cadre taking part without any untoward incidents.

"It is unacceptable to ban meetings of all the political parties based on one incident that happened in a meeting where organisers failed to follow rules, and the police failed to regulate the crowd. Such a move will lead to fascism. It is against the right to free speech, the right to assemble peacefully," he said.

He added that the political parties have a duty to inform the public about the mistakes of the rulers and the state of the country. "Moreover, conducting meetings in a private space is not possible as it will impede the party activities. So, the government should allow holding meetings, rallies and campaigns until the SOPs are devised," he urged.