Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other senior BJP leaders on Saturday condemned the Tamil Nadu government for the arrest of S.G. Suryah, one of the State secretaries of the BJP, who was booked for allegedly spreading fake news on social media.
Ms. Sitharaman asked if it was fair to arrest Mr. Suryah for raising questions on the death of conservancy workers instead of taking appropriate action against such deaths. Condemning the arrest that took place at midnight, she said it had exposed the two-facedness of the DMK and its ally, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), on an important social issue. She urged Chief Minister M.K. Stalin to immediately release Mr. Suryah.
Mr. Suryah was arrested for a statement issued on social media, criticising Madurai MP Su. Venkatesan of CPI (M) for his silence on the death of a conservancy worker in Pennadam town panchayat in Madurai. According to him, the worker was forced to enter an open sewer by a CPI (M) councillor in Pennadam. However, a CPI (M) functionary from Madurai filed a complaint, stating that Pennadam was in fact in Cuddalore district and no such death had taken place due to the reasons alleged by Mr. Suryah.
