Chennai: DMK working president who was evicted and later detained for leading a dharna in front of the Chief Minister’s chamber in the State Secretariat in the historic Fort St. George on Thursday demanding Chief Minister's resignation in connection with the Thoothukudi police firing incident, said he was ready to face any case registered against him and will “bravely take any bullet” too.
“I shall face any case registered against me. I would bravely take any bullet… the DMK's protest will continue till Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami steps down as he is responsible for the killing of more than 12 people in police firing in Thoothukudi,” Mr. Stalin told reporters, seated in the police van.
High drama was witnessed at the State Secretariat here when the opposition DMK leader Stalin accompanied by his party legislators, boycotting the Business Advisory Committee meeting, suddenly resorted to a dharna outside the Chief Minster's Chamber, demanding the discussion on Thoothukudi police firing incident. They also alleged that Mr. Palaniswami had refused to meet them on the issue. He was bundled out of the Secretariat and detained by the police.
While being taken to a marriage hall in a waiting van, a large number of DMK workers, carrying party flags, thronged the Secretariat condemning the arrests, and raised slogans like “we want justice” and “shame on the government” and demanded the resignation of the CM on the Sterlite issue. Normal life on the arterial Kamaraj Salai was affected for nearly 45 minutes due to the flash agitation by the DMK members.
Earlier, Mr. Stalin told reporters that both the DMK and Congress walked out of the BAC meeting because since the last two days Thoothukudi was burning but the CM had not visited the affected families to console them. The CM must resign immediately and police DGP Rajendran must resign. “Though collector and SP were transferred, no action has been taken on these two officials. Trained police officials were brought in mufti to fire at the protesters. This should be investigated by a sitting judge of the high court,” he said.
