India
DMK Leaders Face Charges Over Alleged Derogatory Remarks Against Tamil Nadu Officials
Tamil Nadu police have initiated legal proceedings against three leaders of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) following alleged derogatory remarks made against Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay and cabinet colleague CTR Nirmal Kumar. The individuals named in the First Information Reports (FIRs) include A. Raja, the party's deputy general secretary and a former Union minister, P.K. Sekar Babu, a former state minister, and Vasantham Karthikeyan, a DMK MLA.
The cases stem from comments reportedly made during a statewide protest organized by the DMK on September 12. A. Raja, P.K. Sekar Babu, and Vasantham Karthikeyan allegedly made the remarks in Kallakurichi. The comments attributed to Raja and Sekar Babu were widely circulated on social media.
Police officials stated on Tuesday that A. Raja faces charges under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) related to defamatory remarks intended to disturb peace, inciting violence, using obscene language, and acts disrupting public order. For P.K. Sekar Babu, FIRs have been registered under BNS sections including 296 (reciting an obscene song or words in or near a public place), 352 (intentional insult to provoke breach of peace), 196 (1) (promoting enmity), 353 (1) (spreading false information in any medium including social media), 352 (2) (intentional speech that will break public peace), and 351 (2) (threatening another person with injury to their body, reputation or property). Kallakurichi police also filed a case against DMK MLA Vasantham Karthikeyan for comments against the Chief Minister.
When questioned about the cases, A. Raja responded, "Is this a question? if a lawsuit is filed, we just have to face it." DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan commented that the government is targeting the DMK, stating, "As an opposition party we have the right to criticise, attack the ruling party for their mistakes." Elangovan further alleged that the ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam's intention is to attack the DMK.