Congress leader and Kanyakumari MP H Vasanthakumar was detained in the Nanguneri police station on Monday, even as bye-polls continued in the Assembly constituency.
Bye-elections in two Tamil Nadu assembly constituencies -- Vikravandi (Villupuram district) and Nanguneri (Tirunelveli) -- were underway on Monday. While bye-polls became necessary in Vikravandi after its legislator, K Rathamani, from the DMK, passed away in June, Nanguneri’s MLA seat fell vacant after its incumbent H Vasanthakumar was elected as the MP for Kanyakumari district. On Monday, Vasanthakumar, the former Nanguneri MLA, was allegedly on his way to Nagercoil from Palayamkottai.
Speaking to TNM, a police officer at Nanguneri station said that Vasanthakumar is being questioned on a possible violation of the Model Code of Conduct that is in place due to the bye-elections.
However, speaking to TNM from the Nanguneri police station, Vasanthakumar said, “There is no explanation for why I have been brought to the police station.” Stating that he was an elected representative of the people he said, “If they are treating an MP like this, it means they are insulting the Parliament itself.”
Justifying his visit to Nanguneri on polling day, Vasanthakumar said that there was no rule which stated that travelling on the road to Nanguneri was wrong. “Election is happening and there is a Code of Conduct in place. If I had campaigned within the booth, then this (detaining me) makes sense. But there is no rule that says I shouldn’t travel on the road. I travelled even without the party flag,” he added.
A total of 23 candidates are contesting in Vikravandi, which has around 2.24 lakh voters on the roll. The main contest is between R Muthamilselvan from the AIADMK and N Pugazhenthi of the DMK. There are 12 candidates fighting for the mandate in Nanguneri, which has around 2.57 lakh voters on the roll. V Narayanan of the AIADMK and Ruby R Manohar are the prime candidates seeking the voters’ favour in Nanguneri.