எட்டு வழிச்சாலையால் பாதிக்கப்படுவோரின் நலன் காக்க ஜனநாயக வழியில் களம் கண்ட மு.சட்டமன்ற உறுப்பினர் பாலபாரதி கைது செய்யப்பட்டிருப்பது ஆள்வோரின்...

DMK leader M.K. Stalin condemned the Tamil Nadu police on July 7, 2018, for arresting former CPI(M) legislator Balabharathi and Aam Aadmi Party representative Vaseegaran. The leaders were detained while meeting agrarian families opposing the Salem eight-lane expressway project. Stalin characterized the police action as a high-handed abuse of executive authority designed to stifle lawful political dissent. He demanded the immediate, unconditional release of the detained leaders.

Stalin pointed out that Balabharathi and fellow activists operated strictly within democratic bounds, offering moral solidarity to landowners whose livelihoods faced devastation. Across the corridor route, farmers protested against unconsented land demarcation and environmental disruption. Rather than explaining project merits or negotiating fair compensation, the AIADMK administration reacted by detaining social activists, lawyers, and political representatives attempting to visit affected villages.

Warning the state administration against turning Tamil Nadu into an intolerant police state, Stalin insisted that peaceful assembly remains a protected constitutional right. He stated that suppressing legitimate public grievances will only intensify popular anger. Stalin affirmed that the DMK will resist administrative intimidation and stand alongside all democratic forces defending agrarian rights.