‘Democracy strangled’: Tamil parties condemn folk singer’s arrest
Even as revolutionary folk singer S Kovan was on Saturday
lodged in Puzhal central jail on judicial remand, political parties condemned
the government for slapping sedition charges against him for speaking out
against ill effects of liquor. He has been remanded in judicial custody for 15
days.
In fact, the government’s action has achieved just the
opposite — MDMK leader Vaiko dared the government at a public meeting to book
him for sedition and he sang out the offending song for which Kovan was
arrested. The supporters of the folk singer declared that they too would launch
similar protests.
Kovan’s arrest has given a fresh momentum to the anti-liquor
campaign that came into sharp focus after one of its campaigners — Gandhian
Sasi Perumal — died while protesting from atop a cellphone tower in a village
near Madurai on July 31. But for now, the Opposition has condemned the arrest and
sedition charges against Kovan, a left leaning folk singer and theatre artist
waging a war against the ill-effects of spread of liquor and was fighting for
the closure of TASMAC liquor shops owned by the government.
He had composed, sung and acted in two videos of the songs —
“Shutdown TASMAC” and “The lady who served liquor” — which were released in
vinavu.com, a newszine. The videos went viral on social media. In one song, a man
sporting a mask of Jayalalithaa and wearing a green saree is shown pouring
liquor to addicts. There are also caricatures of Jayalalithaa seemingly
wallowing in money and one of her ministers handing over a bottle of liquor.
Vaiko took the lead on Saturday by singing the offending
songs at a public meeting in Tiruchirappalli and later dared the government to
arrest him on the same charges. DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi and his son MK Stalin sought the
immediate release of the jailed singer, describing it as “strangulation of
democracy”. Stalin said, “Seeing the manner in which this government
crushed human rights, I fear that there is a dangerous situation prevailing in
the state.”
PMK supremo S Ramadoss condemned Kovan’s arrest but said the
wordings in his songs were tasteless and he could not support them. State BJP president Tamilisai Soundarajan said, “Instead of
arresting liquor habit among people that was destroying their lives, it is sad
that the government has arrested the singer, which is condemnable.”
On similar lines, Abhirr VP, Campaigner at Amnesty
International India, said, “It is absurd for the Tamil Nadu government to
arrest someone essentially for making fun of it. By arresting Kovan for
sedition, the state government is sending the message that any criticism of the
chief minister and government policies will not be tolerated.”
