PMK accuses Chennai police of double standards while dealing with plea for protests

PMK alleges bias by GCCP in granting protest permissions, seeks action against Chennai police for favoring ruling party.

A Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) functionary has moved the Madras High Court alleging the Greater Chennai City Police (GCCP) has been functioning in a biased manner by granting permission for protests by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party but denying the same to the opposition parties in the State.

Appearing before Justice P. Velmurugan, holding the portfolio for hearing cases related to sitting as well as former Members of the Parliament and the Legislative Assembly, PMK advocate K. Balu made a mention regarding the demonstration conducted by the DMK cadres against Governor R.N. Ravi on Tuesday (January 7, 2025).

The advocate told the court the Governor left the Legislative Assembly on Monday without reading out his customary winter session address, at the beginning of the year, because his request to play the national anthem twice, both before and after the commencement of the Assembly proceedings, was not heeded to.

Immediately, DMK organisation secretary R.S. Bharathi announced that the party would hold agitations against the Governor, for having allegedly insulted the State song Tamil Thai Vazhthu, across all district headquarters in the State and accordingly one such demonstration was held at Saidapet in Chennai on Tuesday.

Wondering how the GCCP could have granted permission for the protest to the ruling party in a busy locality that too during peak traffic hours and within 24 hours of taking a decision to conduct such a protest, Mr. Balu said, similar requests made by the opposition parties had been denied by the police recently.

He said, a PMK office-bearer had made a representation to the GCCP on December 30, 2024 seeking permission for the party’s womens wing to conduct a protest, codemning the Anna University sexual assault incident, at a designated place for protests near Valluvar Kottam on January 2, 2025.

However, the GCCP denied permission for the protest by citing multiple reasons and one of the reasons was that the application seeking permission must have been made at least five days before the protest as stipulated under Section 41 of the Madras City Police Act of 1888.