Waman Meshram of Bharat Mukti Morcha 
Tamil Nadu

Bharat Mukti Morcha’s EVM scam rally denied permission in TN, activists allege bias

The inauguration of "EVM Scam Expose Rashtriya Parivartan Yatra - Part 2" was supposed to be held in Kanyakumari in front of Gandhi Mamdapam on January 26.

Written by : TNM Staff

Bharat Mukti Morcha, an organisation spearheaded by activist Waman Meshram, has alleged that the Kanyakumari police refused to grant them permission to conduct an awareness rally on the alleged Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) scam, seemingly due to political reasons. However, the police have refuted the allegations saying that the permission was denied solely due to safety reasons. The inauguration of ‘EVM Scam Expose Rashtriya Parivartan Yatra - Part 2’ was supposed to be held in Kanyakumari in front of Gandhi Mamdapam on January 26, Republic Day. 

Speaking to TNM, Bharat Mukti Morcha state in-charge Vicky Chaudhary said that the police had denied permission for the programme despite repeated petitions. He also accused Kanyakumari Superintendent of Police (SP) DN Hari Kiran Prasad of “consciously violating the Indian Constitution and denying fundamental rights.”

Waman Meshram, who is also the national president of the All India Backward and Minority Communities Employees Federation (BAMCEF), told TNM that the police did not even acknowledge their application. “They should have given their version in writing. We are protected by Article 19 of the Constitution, which says that it is our fundamental right to demonstrate in public. This is not dependent on the mercy of the administration. We are going to move the High Court. We don't know if there is any political pressure on the Kanyakumari administration because DMK [Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam] is not our opponent. However, we also know that the bureaucracy doesn't act independent of the political administration,” he added.

Meanwhile, refuting the allegations, SP Hari said, “Conducting such an event in a public place will be inconvenient. Public safety is of utmost importance to the police. It was on these grounds that we rejected the application. They came again later, but we told them we cannot give permission. There was no bias at all. We give permission to programmes purely based on merits.” He added that the organisation had applied for permission just a few days prior to the event, despite which a response was given to them.

In an order dated January 25, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) had stated that permission was being denied for the programme because “Kanyakumari was a tourist location with foreign and local tourists, as well as because Section 30(2) of Police Act was in place in Kanyakumari”. The section deals with “regulation of public assemblies and processions and licensing of the same”.