‘BJP held yatra despite refusal of permission’

The Director General of Police on Tuesday complained to the Madras High Court that the Tamil Nadu unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had made a number of makes an attempt to take out the ‘Vetrivel Yatra’ despite refusal of permission by the police and a case pending within the court docket.

Omnibus order

Appearing earlier than a Division Bench of Justices M. Sathyanarayanan and R. Hemalatha, Advocate General Vijay Narayan stated it was not honest on the half of a State unit of a political social gathering, ruling within the Centre, to take regulation into its palms and violate the canons of regulation. The A-G stated the DGP had made it very clear to the social gathering that he couldn’t grant an omnibus order allowing it to go on a month-long Statewide Yatra. The officer had additionally instructed the social gathering leaders to method particular person Superintendents or Commissioners of Police in search of permission.

On November 2, BJP State normal secretary K. Nagarajan made an software to the Greater Chennai Commissioner of Police in search of permission for the Yatra. The Commissioner rejected permission on November 5. Yet, BJP State president L. Murugan took out the Yatra from his residence at Koyambedu. About 250 cadres adopted him in 100 automobiles.

The members had been holding social gathering flags and never sustaining bodily distance. They travelled forward despite warnings issued by the police asking them to disperse. The metropolis police had no possibility however to register a case in opposition to Mr. Murugan, the social gathering’s nationwide normal secretary H. Raja and others. The members had been intercepted once more at Nazarathpet and 19 of them had been arrested.

Flouted guidelines

The sequence of occasions would present that the BJP cadres violated the Police Commissioner’s orders and acted in a way prejudicial to public well being when the entire world was going through the menace of COVID-19, the AG stated. He stated the partymen indulged in related violations in Tiruttani despite rejection orders handed by Tiruvallur Superintendent of Police.

Mr. Narayan stated a majority of the members didn’t put on masks and a few of them prevented the police from discharging their duties. “This was not just a temple visit. The cars moved in 10 km speed and the BJP president was waving to the crowd. Your Lordships will be totally shocked to see the videos,” the A-G told the court and opposed grant of interim orders.

He pointed out that after Mr. Nagarajan had moved an urgent writ petition in the court on Saturday seeking permission for the Yatra, the Krishnagiri Superintendent of Police too had passed orders on Monday rejecting permission for it in Hosur. “The rejection order has been served on them today,” he stated and identified that instances had been booked in opposition to former Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan and former Member of Parliament C.P. Radhakrishnan too. After listening to him at size, the judges desisted from granting any interim aid to the petitioner however for liberty to problem the rejection orders.

They additionally noticed that the police had been responsibility sure to use the COVID-19 protocols to all occasions irrespective of the organisers. They additional granted time for the DGP to file a counter affidavit to the writ petition and adjourned it to December 2.