CHENNAI: Alleging that the case under sedition charges was foisted on him by the top brass of the Tamil Nadu Government, rebel AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran on Wednesday threatened to take legal action against those responsible for filing the “false case” on him.
The rebel leader, removed from the primary membership of the AIADMK by the general council last month, asserted that he would not knock at the doors of the judiciary for anticipatory bail in the case since lawyers feel the references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami did not warrant a case under sedition charges. Dhinakaran and 36 others have been booked under sedition charges for publishing and distributing pamphlets that contained “defamatory remarks” against Modi and Palaniswami.
“I am not going to move the court for anticipatory bail in the case. Why should I do that? I am not scared. In fact, I have decided to use the sedition case to drag people who foisted it on me to the court. I am not going to take this easy and have decided to face the case legally. Why should I be booked under sedition charges? The poetry in the pamphlet does not warrant a case of sedition,” Dhinakaran said.
The former Periyakulam MP also said it was a strong case for him to take on his rivals. He also said advocates say the contents of the pamphlets do not warrant action under sedition charges and sought to know how leaders could be held responsible for posters that cadre print in their name.
“I am the deputy general secretary of the party and cadre will use my name in pamphlets. This is a false case foisted against me by someone at the behest of those in the government,” he said. A case was registered at the Annadanpatty police station in Salem and four persons, including Venkatachalam, have already been taken into custody. Dhinakaran and others have been booked under sections 143, 120B, 124A, 153, 500, 504 and 506 (2) sections of the IPC based on a complaint by K.R.S. Saravanan, who alleged that the accused were found distributing the pamphlets.
The case was registered on Friday and the complaint says the pamphlets, which had Dhinakaran’s name, had “derogatory and defamatory remarks” against Modi and Palaniswami on various issues like Neet. The pamphlets were distributed widely among people in Salem and some were even pasted on walls, sources said.
