Jayakumar was not arrested for insulting Stalin: R.S. Bharathi

‘He was held for creating a law and order problem on the day of the local bodies polls’

DMK Organising Secretary R.S. Bharathi on Monday hit out at former minister and AIADMK leader D. Jayakumar for his statement that his arrest was meant as a warning by the DMK government to the others in the latter’s party.

Responding to Mr. Jayakumar’s interview to The Hindu on Monday, Mr. Bharathi said the leader was arrested for his actions on the day of the local bodies polls and not for his statements against DMK president and Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

“It is highly condemnable that Mr. Jayakumar is claiming that his arrest was a warning to the AIADMK when his actions of taking the law into his own hands and treating a DMK cadre badly,” he said.

Mr. Bharathi said the former Minister was unable to digest the fact that Mr. Stalin was taking action on constructive suggestions made by the Opposition while ignoring unnecessary insults heaped upon him by them.

“Mr. Jayakumar should prove himself innocent before the court in the land grabbing, attempt to murder and public nuisance charges made against him,” he said.

“Mr. Jayakumar may have given a number of defamatory interviews. But he was not arrested for those. That is the magnanimity showed by our leader [Stalin]. But he was arrested for taking the law into his own hands, and it was only the law that took its due course,” Mr. Bharathi said.

He said the situation was such that a former Law Minister had to be educated about law, and added that Mr. Jayakumar could have ambitions of becoming the AIADMK’s coordinator or co-coordinator.