On Friday (June 16) night, BJP (Tamil Nadu) State Secretary SG Suryah was arrested by the cybercrime unit of Madurai police.
His arrest comes days after he accused a Communist ward councillor named Viswanathan of being responsible for the death of a hygiene worker. SG Surya said that Vishwanathan compelled the deceased to clean a drain filled with faecal matter, which resulted in allergies and his eventual death.
The BJP leader had also written a strongly-worded letter to CPI(M) MP Su Venkatesan, complaining about the death of the worker and questioning his silence on the matter. It is believed that the tweet triggered the arrest of SG Suryah.
அறிக்கை
— SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) June 7, 2023
கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கவுன்சிலரால் பறிபோன தூய்மை பணியாளர் உயிர் – கள்ள மெளனம் காக்கும் புரச்சீ போராளி மதுரை எம்.பி சு.வெங்கடேசன்!
பிரிவினைவாதம் பேசும் உங்கள் போலி அரசியல் அந்த மலக்குழியை விட மோசமாக துர்நாற்றம் வீசுகிறது, மனிதனாக வாழ வழி தேடுங்கள் தோழரே! @SuVe4Madurai @MaVeWriter pic.twitter.com/tAUtSMZDYI
In his tweet on June 7 this year, the BJP State Secretary pointed out, “Madurai Pennadam town panchayat 12th ward councillor Viswanathan had forced the worker to undertake the job after which the worker got infected and died. The hypocritical politics of the MP stinks.”
He further added, “The deceased is a scheduled caste brother! Where’s your red flag! Where is your fighting spirit? Where are your passionate words? If you are against the ruling BJP government, you will come forward immediately. Where have you gone now? Did you sneak out?”
“Why doesn’t your red flag fly against your fellow comrades? Or won’t your red flag take to the streets and fight in support of the Scheduled Caste brothers? Your fake politics draped in red flag stinks worse than the manhole. Find a way to live as a human being, my friend,” SG Suryah had written.
Police complaint against BJP leader
Soon after, a police complaint was filed against the BJP leader by the Madurai Urban unit of CPI(M). They accused him of tarnishing the image of MP Su Venkatesan on social media and sought action against SG Suryah.
“Suryah is intentionally creating tension among the conservancy workers as well as the public on an incident that did not happen in the city. The BJP functionary is creating tension,” the Communist Party of India (Marxist) claimed.
The Communist party workers claimed that there is no councillor by the name of Vishwanathan or any ‘Pennadam town panchayat’ in Madurai district.
Annamalai backs SG Suryah
Following the arrest, BJP Tamil Nadu President K. Annamalai has extended his support to SG Suryah. In a tweet, he said, “The arrest of BJP Tamil Nadu
State Secretary Thiru @Suryah SG avlis highly condemnable. His only mistake was to expose the nasty double standards of the communists, allies of DMK.”
“Using state machinery to curtail free speech & getting jittery for the slightest criticism is unbecoming of a democratically elected leader and, indeed, are signs of an autocratic leader in the making. Drawing inspiration from autocrats, TN CM Thiru @mkstalin is turning the state into a lawless jungle,” he emphasised.
The arrest of @BJP4TamilNadu State Secretary Thiru @SuryahSG avl is highly condemnable. His only mistake was to expose the nasty double standards of the communists, allies of DMK.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) June 17, 2023
Using state machinery to curtail free speech & getting jittery for the slightest criticism is…
“These arrests will not deter us & we will continue to be bearers of the uncomfortable truth!” Annamalai added.
