Following the arrest of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam working president M.K. Stalin in Chennai, party workers in Coimbatore staged protests at various places. The Coimbatore City and Rural Police arrested the workers in Coimbatore, Pollachi, Valparai and Mettupalayam.
According to sources, the Police removed nearly 300 workers in Coimbatore, including Singanallur MLA and Coimbatore Urban District in-charge N. Karthik and former Minister Pongalur N. Palanisamy.
The workers staged a protest near the Red Cross Junction. They condemned the arrest of Mr. Stalin, who attempted to stage a protest near Raj Bhavan, Chennai, against Governor Banwarilal Purohit's alleged interference in administration.
Addressing reporters at the protest venue Mr. Karthik said the Governor was indulging in “anti-democratic activities by ignoring elected representatives and touring various districts.” The DMK was opposed to the Governor's actions and showed black flags wherever he went.
The DMK had written to the Governor that he should not usurp the powers of the Chief Minister and despite that as he continued his visits, Mr. Karthik added.
In Pollachi, DMK workers led by Coimbatore Rural South district in-charge Thendral Selvaraj staged a protest. The Coimbatore Rural Police removed around 200 workers. They also removed a similar number of protesters in Mettupalayam after they staged a protest led by Coimbatore Rural North district in-charge C.R. Ramachandran.
The Tirupur City and Rural Police removed DMK workers from Tirupur, Udumalpet and Madathukulam. Tirupur North district Secretary K. Selvaraj led over 200 protesters. His South district counterpart L. Padmanabhan led over 150 protesters at the Udumalpet bus stand. In Madathukulam, MLA R. Jayaramakrishnan led a similar number of protesters and they courted arrest, said sources.
Similarly, in Udhagamandalam, DMK workers led by district secretaries and MLA M. Thiravidamani staged protests in Ooty, Coonnoor, Gudalur and Kothagiri.