Student in Madras HC: Protect March for Secularism'

Chennai: A final year law college girl student and a member of the coordination committee of People’s Platform Against Fascism has approached Madras high court to direct the police to accord protection to the voyage scheduled in the name and style of ‘March for Secularism’ between March 21 and 30 and permission to use microphone and speakers in the canter used in the voyage.

Justice M.S. Ramesh, before whom the petition filed by M. Sreela came up for hearing adjourned it to March 22, after orally directing the prosecution to inform the court the conditions that the police intends to impose for such voyage.
In her petition, M. Sreela submitted that March 23 is the anniversary of three great leaders of freedom struggle, Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukdev.

To commemorate them and campaign their secular ideologies, the platform has decided to run a voyage across Tamil Nadu through several cities and hold public meetings at each city. The platform has taken all steps to ensure that the voyage is conducted in a peaceful and orderly manner. The platform undertakes that the voyage will be carried on without any disturbance to the public or traffic, she added.

She said the voyage has been planned with two vehicles carrying people who travel and a canter that will be used as the campaign vehicle.

Since the voyage was proposed to start from Chennai, she gave representations to the city police commissioner and all the superintendents of police on March 16. Though the date for the voyage was nearing and they were at the neck of the moment, the police have not conveyed their decision.

Lots of arrangements have been made, many participants from across the country have been invited and their travel arrangements have been made. Vehicles have been arranged to accommodate 40 to 50 travellers on this voyage.
The object of the voyage was to create awareness through campaign to uphold secularism, peace, unity and fraternity, she added.