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Ms. Karthika, and her husband Murugan Chandrakumar were picked up in Coimbatore and taken to Dharapuram, after detention at the Peelamedu police station.

Earlier on October 4, Ms. Karthika and 20 others were detained for staging road blockade protesting denial of permission to conduct their campaign along the roadshow route of Mr. Vijay. She alleged the TVK was disbursing cash and gifts to voters, and that the authorities were turning a blind eye.

On Tuesday, in a video shared widely on social media platforms, Ms. Karthika was seen being taken forcibly by women police personnel into the Dharapuram police station.

Condemning the arrest, NTK chief coordinator Seeman alleged “false charges” had been framed and that the police action reflected “fascist and retribution” politics of the TVK Government.

In a series of tweets on X platform, Mr. Seeman said the TVK government’s collapse was not far.

Rather than fixing law and order situation, and reining in TVK partymen indulging in criminal activities, arresting Ms. Karthika in a “fabricated case” was a “shameful act.” The TVK government was repeating the “same mistakes” committed by the Dravidian parties in the past, he charged.

Demanding immediate release of Ms. Karthika and others, Mr. Seeman warned that the “vengeful” arrest will lead to “disastrous consequences.”

Mr. Stalin said that when Ms. Karthika had criticised the DMK and its leaders in the past, the party had responded in a principled manner and clarified its position. “We never thought of silencing her through arrest. But the TVK government behaves like an autocratic and undemocratic government,” he said.

He accused the TVK government of misusing its power during the by-election and said the arrest of a candidate for questioning the alleged misuse of power smacked of a dictatorial attitude and a sectarian mindset. “Police officers who arrest people for bailable offences will face the condemnation of courts. The police should not become part of the TVK government’s vendetta politics,” he said.

Mr. Stalin alleged that the arrest was intended to divert public attention from the seizure of drugs from a TVK functionary.

Naam Tamilar Katchi / Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam / election / Tamil Nadu

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