TTV Dhinakaran, ten others booked for sedition

CHENNAI: Sidelined AIADMK leader T T V Dhinakaran was today booked and 10 of his supporters were held in connection with distribution of pamphlets allegedly containing defamatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami here.

Former MLA Venkatachalam and local AIADMK functionary Saravanan were among the 10 arrested on the basis of a complaint filed by one Vinayakam, alleging that the accused were found distributing the pamphlets among the public outside a hall, where Palaniswami was holding a meeting with senior officials yesterday.

The pamphlets contained "derogatory remarks" against the prime minister and the chief minister, the police said.

Dhinakaran and his loyalists P Vetrivel, one of the 18 AIADMK MLAs recently disqualified from the Tamil Nadu Assembly under the anti-defection law, and V Pugazhenthi have also been named as accused in the case, the police said.

This is the second case slapped against Dhinakaran, who is engaged in a tussle for power with Palaniswami, by the state police.

Earlier, the sidelined AIADMK leader, along with Tamil actor and party functionary Senthil, had been booked for allegedly making defamatory remarks against P Kumar, the party MP from Tiruchirappalli.

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had restrained the Tiruchirappalli police from arresting them.

Responding to the latest case against him, Dhinakaran alleged that it was filed since his rival Palaniswami "is the police minister".

The chief minister also holds the Home portfolio, under which comes the police department.

"This government is anyway going to fall. They are doing such these things since he (Palaniswami) is the police minister...Let them do what they want. The AIADMK supporters and the people are going to send them home," Dhinakaran told reporters in Chennai.