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tamil nadu
& Tamil Eelam freedom struggle
Tamil Nadu & Tamil Eelam
Struggle for Freedom 200 lawyers arrested;
Pandemonium in Tamil Nadu assembly
Indo-Asian News Service
Chennai, February 20, 2009
Over 200 lawyers were arrested in Tamil
Nadu on Friday and the state assembly witnessed chaotic scenes, with opposition
members being evicted, over the clashes between advocates and policemen in
Chennai a day earlier.
Law Minister S Durai Murugan read out a statement under Rule 110 of the assembly
that prohibits debate, blaming both the lawyers and policemen for the
"unfortunate turn of events".
Murugan appealed for calm and said the police were forced to use batons on
Friday, leading to bleeding injuries to over 25 lawyers who took part in the
violent protests that led to the burning of a police post.
The incident was a fallout of what had happened in the premises of the Madras
High Court on Tuesday when some lawyers hurled rotten eggs at Janata Party
president Subramanian Swamy for his opposition to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) in Sri Lanka.
Legislators of the AIADMK, Communist Party of India, PMK and MDMK were evicted
from the house following their slogan shouting and insistence on a debate.
"The denial of a debate on a serious law and order issue was a shameful chapter
in the annals of democracy. Further, the incidents have shown that the
constitution has failed in the state," AIADMK floor leader and former chief
minister O Panneerselvam told reporters after being evicted with the rest of the
opposition legislators.
While over 150 lawyers were arrested for defying prohibitory orders while taking
out a procession to the secretariat, one kilometre away from the seat of the
government, 50 others were held across the state for Thursday's clashes and
causing public disturbance.
Cases have been filed against the lawyers under 307 Indian Penal Code, which
among other charges includes attempt to murder.
Lawyers, however, continued to boycott courts all over Tamil Nadu protesting
police action against their colleagues.
Police said lawyers set fire to government property, including public transport
vehicles, and staged sit-in protests. Over 150 police personnel were injured in
Thursday's clashes.
Pitched battles between lawyers and police personnel were witnessed in the court
premises for several hours on Thursday.
Police officials contended that a section of lawyers demanding the arrest of the
Janata Party president pelted stones at policemen - a charge denied by Madras
High Court Advocates Association president S Prabhakaran.
Speaking in the assembly, the law minister admitted that Judge Arumugha Perumal
Adityan and several lawyers and policemen were injured in the clashes.
A three-member division bench of the Madras High Court, headed by acting Chief
Justice S Mukhopadhyay, has ordered a probe into the clashes by the Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi has also offered to meet Mukhopadhyay to discuss
the issue and defuse the situation.
"Your cooperation is very essential for me and for this government... Though I
am in hospital I will come and see you in an ambulance," Karunanidhi wrote in a
letter to Mukhopadhyay. The letter was released to the media.
The Madras High Court has also posted an advance bail petition filed by movie
director Seeman to Feb 26 for allegedly exhorting people to resort to armed
rebellion in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry in support of a separate homeland for
Tamils in Sri Lanka.
While a police team from Puducherry is yet to arrest the director despite its
presence here since Tuesday, fresh cases have been filed in police stations in
the state on similar charges against Seeman, who has been arrested twice already
on the same charges.
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