Plea to restrain DMK’s Makkal Grama Sabai

CHENNAI: A resident of Coimbatore has moved a plea at the Madras High Court seeking direction to the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) to restrain the DMK, its president MK Stalin and his son Udhayanidhi from organising the ‘Makkal Grama Sabai’ without obtaining prior permission and following Covid protocols.

According to petitioner, Venkatesh Palanisamy of Sirumugai, the meetings would result in violation of physical distancing norms, endangering the public. He further added, “...As per the Act, a grama sabha can only be convened by the village panchayat or the inspector.

Since Section 2 (13) of the Tamil Nadu Panchayats Act, 1994, only permits the conduct of Grama Sabha by the inspector or the president, and no other person can claim to conduct the meet, and understanding that it is legally not permissible to conduct the same, MK Stalin changed the nomenclature and started using the expression “Makkal Grama Sabai”. 

The petitioner stated that conducting makkal grama sabai without taking permission and not following Covid protocols shows complete disregard for health and safety of citizens. He also sought to restrain the party from holding such meetings, especially during the pandemic, which would prove counter-productive to all the efforts undertaken by the government.