Rajya Sabha MP and DMK’s organizing secretary RS Bharathi was arrested by the Chennai police from his residence in Alandur on Saturday morning. The DMK leader was arrested for his controversial remark on the appointment of Dalit high court judges. A complaint was filed against him by President of Adhi Tamilar Makkal Katchi on May 12. Following the complaint, the Teynampet police filed an FIR against the Rajya Sabha MP under section 3 of the Scheduled caste and Schedule tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act along with relevant sections of the IPC.
Soon after the arrest by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Greater Chennai Police, RS Bharathi was released as he managed to obtain bail. He was released after Egmore Metropolitan Magistrate Court granted him interim bail till June 1. The case is scheduled to come up for further hearing on Wednesday. The case was initially registered by the Teynampet police but later it was transferred to the CCB.
The DMK leader in a party event had said that the appointment of Dalit judges in Madras High Court is the result of the alms given to them by the Dravidian movement.
“Arrested for exposing AIADMK corruption”, DMK Leader says.
RS Bharathi has alleged that he is being arrested for exposing the corruption in the ruling AIADMK government. He said, “A video clip of my speech at the party event was circulated by a specific group on social media. I spoke about it the next day to you (media). Today, after 100 days, the action is being taken against me. The reason for the sudden arrest is because yesterday evening I lodged a complaint regarding the corruption by Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam with the Vigilance Commission. There is another complaint that is being prepared against the procurement of bleaching powder for coronavirus disinfection work in Coimbatore for around Rs 200 crore. Somehow they got a whiff of it and they have arrested me now. Even if I’m arrested, the complaint against Minister SP Velumani will be given.”
He alleged that police arrested hin despite being told that he’s of older age and under quarantine. He added, “I feel sorry for the policemen because they are being used to satisfy someone else. In the next few months, the same officers will come for our security and salute us. We have seen this many times and we are used to this.”
“Dalit Judges are appointed in High court are the result of the alms given by the Dravidian movement,” says RS Bharathi
In a party’s event on 15 February 2020, RS Bharathi had asserted that Dalits were appointed as High court judges because of the charity done by the Dravidian movement. He claimed that no Harijan has become a judge in High court in Madhya Pradesh. He added, “after Karunanidhi became CM of Tamilnadu, the first Dalit judge, A Vardarajan was appointed. Seven or eight others from the Adi Dravidar community went on to become judges after that. It is the alms given by the Dravidian movement.”
RS Bharathi later expressed regret for hurting sentiments of a marginalized community. He took to twitter and wrote, “I express regret for hurting the sentiments of the oppressed persons. My intention was not to hurt them, but to just highlight the good things Kalaignar (Karunanidhi) has done for them.”
