The Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticized the state police for allegedly obstructing its plans for 25,000 street-corner meetings, claiming bias in favor of the ruling DMK government. Party representative A.N.S. Prasad has called for fair treatment and timely approvals in line with the law. The BJP stressed the importance of police neutrality and urged senior officials to protect democratic rights.
The BJP’s statewide campaign, spearheaded by state president Nainar Nagendran under the guidance of former State president K. Annamalai, has seen senior leaders like Union Minister L. Murugan and others inaugurating meetings across districts since February 17. Each gathering, involving National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners, covers multiple polling booth areas.
These meetings aim to shed light on what the BJP perceives as failures of the DMK government, including alleged corruption, dynasty politics, drug abuse, unmet electoral pledges, and financial strain. The party alleged that local party members faced delays, rejections, and intimidation while seeking police permissions over the past three days. It also claimed instances of pressure to disrupt meetings in certain constituencies, including Chief Minister M.K. Stalin’s Kolathur segment.
The BJP has reached out to various officials, including the Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, Director General of Police, Greater Chennai Police Commissioner, and district-level officers, seeking unbiased approvals. Additionally, the party has urged Chief Electoral Officer Archana Patnaik to establish monitoring mechanisms at the district level to safeguard democratic processes. Emphasizing their commitment to peaceful campaigning, the BJP described the meetings as small-scale, self-funded initiatives focused on voter education, expressing confidence in gaining broader public support through the NDA in the state.
