Pandiarajan booked for dishonouring national flag

Chennai: AIADMK (PTA) faction leaders, including former education Minister ‘Ma Foi’ K. Pandiarajan, Dr Azhagu Muthuselvi and a local politico, were among several others booked by the City Police for dishonouring the national flag after they paraded a replica of the funeral hearse of the former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.

The Panneerselvam faction of AIADMK had paraded a replica featuring Jayalalithaa lying in state, clad in a green sari, and the hearse draped with the Indian Tricolour. The case follows a complaint from the Returning Officer, Praveen Nair, in this regard.

When the dummy was rolled out in RK Nagar constituency during the byelection campaign by the OPS faction on the evening of April 6, rival groups registered their opposition, besides lodging a complaint with the Election Commission. The images of Azhagu Muthuselvi addressing the gathering with Pandiarajan and a few others in an open vehicle went viral in the social networking sites.

Though the campaign is said to have struck an emotive note among the RK Nagar electorate, the development was seen as touching a new low in State politics attracting sharp-criticism from all quarters.

Following the intervention of cops and poll officials, the AIADMK (PTA) leaders agreed to remove the dummy. The dummy was covered by a silk shawl, and was whisked away in Azhagu Muthuselvi’s vehicle.

RK Nagar Police had registered a case under section 171F (punishment for undue influence or personation at an election) of the IPC read-with section 123(corrupt practices) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and under the provisions of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971, against the said trio and several others.

Ma Foi seeks anticipatory bail

Apprehending arrest in connection with a case for allegedly dishonouring the national flag while carrying Jayalalithaa’s “coffin’ and canvassing for votes for the recently cancelled RK Nagar bye poll, former state minister K. Pandiarjaan, now in former chief minister O. Paneerselvam camp, has filed a petition in the Madras high court, seeking anticipatory bail.

The petition is likely to come up for hearing on April 11. In his petition, Pandiarajan submitted that he apprehended arrest at the hands of RK Nagar police for the alleged offences under section 171F IPC read with section 123 (ii) (b) of Representation of People Act and section 2 (h) of the Prevention of Insult to National Honour Act.

He is a member of political party and worked for the candidate for the election in RK Nagar constituency in support of Puratchi Thalaivi Amma, AIADMK.

In respect of such campaign work, a false case has been registered against him and others by the police. The present case was registered against him with political motive, he added.