Leaders of the DMK, including President MK Stalin and Kanimozhi, have been booked by the Tamil Nadu police for holding a grama sabha meeting on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi, despite the government cancelling the meeting citing the coronavirus pandemic situation.
Farmers associations across Tamil Nadu had condemned the decision of the state government to cancel the meeting scheduled to be held on Friday and the DMK instead held a Makkal Sabhai Kottam (People's Sabha) across Tamil Nadu, as an alternative for the grama sabha and passed resolutions against the three farm bills.
Following this, the police registered cases against leaders including DMK president Stalin for violating the coronavirus pandemic measures by conducting the People’ Sabha. Members of farmers’ associations had staged protests in a few parts of Tamil Nadu. DMK members also took to the streets and alleged that the grama sabha meetings were stopped to thwart the resolutions passed against the three farm bills in the meetings.
A senior Tiruvallur district police officer told PTI that a case has been registered against about 100 people, including Stalin, for holding the meet and violating COVID-19 curbs, based on a complaint from revenue department officials.
The DMK President presided over a meeting held in Tiruvallur district and condemned the Farm Acts. He demanded the government to withdraw the Acts and said that the DMK was holding the meet to safeguard agriculture.
He also asked, “They (AIADMK) organized an executive meeting with over 100 people inside a hall, will coronavirus not affect them then? Chief Minister Edappadi is saying he is holding consultations in all districts and has controlled the coronavirus situation, and if that is the case then what is the need for stopping the grama sabha meetings?”
DMK leaders Durai Murugan and EV Velu were also booked by the police.
Meanwhile, AIADMK Minister for Fisheries Jayakumar denied that the grama sabhas were cancelled with a political motive. He also said that the executive committee meeting was held after conducting a COVID-19 test for all the members, and physical distancing measures were followed at the time of meeting.
The grama sabha meeting is usually held four times a year — on January 26, May 1, August 15 and October 2 — as an exercise for a ‘grassroots-level democracy.’ A few farmers’ organisations said that the cancellation of the grama sabha was a violation of the Panchayat Raj Act, as per report.
(With PTI inputs)