Madurai police arrests Tamil Nadu BJP state secretary SG Suryah

The Madurai police on Saturday arrested Tamil Nadu BJP state secretary SG Suryah for posting a tweet wherein he criticized a DMK leader. Suryah had accused a Communist Party of India (Marxist) councillor named Viswanathan of compelling a hygiene worker to clean a drain filled with feces, which led to the death of the worker. The CPI(M) has, however, deemed the entire tweet a fabricated one, as it denied the existence of a councillor named Vishwanatahan in the claimed area.

Surya was charged under sections 153(a), 505 (1)(b), 505 (1)(c) of the IPC and 66(d) of the IT Act. The arrest drew criticism from several political leaders in Tamil Nadu, including BJP state president K Annamalai, who called the arrest anti-democratic and an attempt to shut down dissent by the Stalin government.