About 320 members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were arrested here on Monday when they attempted to picket the Legislative Assembly in protest against Speaker V. Vaithilingam’s decision not to permit three nominated MLAs inside the House in spite of the High Court order validating their nomination.
The party workers, led by BJP Puducherry unit president V. Swaminathan, took out a procession from Swadeshi Mills to picket the Assembly. However, they were arrested en route on Anna Salai and released later.
Mr. Swaminathan condemned the Speaker’s decision not to permit three MLAs into the Assembly despite court orders clear orders of the Madras High Court and termed it as murder of democracy. The party would take up this issue with President Ram Nath Kovind, he added.