DMK Working President MK Stalin slammed Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit for allegedly infringing on the autonomy of the state and said that he would personally wave the black flag at him the next time he conducts a ‘field visit’.
Speaking at the DMK student-wing event in Karur on Saturday, he said that he is not the one to be intimidated by the imprisonment threats of the Governor.
“The Raj Bhavan has issued a statement threatening us with an imprisonment of seven years. I have seen many such threats and have been raised by Kalaignar. I have already said that in order to preserve the state’s autonomy, I am ready to be in jail for life. I am waiting for the governor to go on his next field-visit. I am going to wave a black flag there,” he said.
This attack from Stalin comes after the Raj Bhavan issued a statement warning of stern action against people who speak against the Governor’s field visits.
Stalin also said that the Governor ordered the arrest of DMK cadres in Namakkal after they demanded a CBI probe into Nirmala Devi case.
Around 200 DMK workers were remanded in judicial custody for raising black flags during the Governor’s visit to Namakkal district last week.
This was followed by a protest led by Stalin in front of Raj Bhavan, in which he along with the cadre were detained by the police.
They were protesting against the arrest of DMK cadres in Namakkal the day before.
Banwarilal Purohit has repeatedly been accused by the leaders of the opposition parties of trying to disrupt the state’s autonomy.
While the Governor has maintained that he was fully authorised to visit the districts, the Tamil Nadu government had until recently maintained a stoic silence over the issue. The Governor, on his part, released a legal opinion on Tuesday justifying his field visits.