TN: BJP condemns leader's arrest over alleged fake news tweet
What's the story
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state secretary in Tamil Nadu, SG Suryah, was arrested on Friday for allegedly spreading fake news about a sanitation worker's death in Madurai, reported NDTV. Denying his claims, the Madurai Police said no such incident took place in the district. Meanwhile, the BJP condemned Suryah's arrest, accusing the state government of using state machinery to curtail free speech.
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Suryah exposed double standards of communists: K Annamalai
Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai on Saturday tweeted that Suryah's only mistake was to expose the nasty double standards of the communists, allies of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Notably, in his social media post, Suryah also slammed Madurai MP S Venkatesan for his silence over the incident. He belongs to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).
Tweet
Stalin turning state into lawless jungle: Annamalai
Annamalai further tweeted, "Using state machinery to curtail free speech and getting jittery for the slightest criticism is unbecoming of a democratically elected leader and, indeed, are signs of an autocratic leader in the making." "Drawing inspiration from autocrats, [TN CM MK Stalin] is turning the state into a lawless jungle... We will continue to be bearers of the uncomfortable truth!" he added.
Twitter Post
Here's Annamalai's full tweet
The arrest of @BJP4TamilNadu State Secretary Thiru @SuryahSG avl is highly condemnable. His only mistake was to expose the nasty double standards of the communists, allies of DMK.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) June 17, 2023
Using state machinery to curtail free speech & getting jittery for the slightest criticism is…
More information
Suryah attacked Viswanathan in his tweet
Notably, in a letter aimed at CPI(M) Councilor Viswanathan, Suryah claimed that a sanitation worker in Madurai died because he was forced to work in fecal water, which made him ill. He also attacked Viswanathan for allegedly forcing the sanitation worker to resort to manual scavenging even though it is illegal. A copy of the letter was attached to his tweet.