Tamil Nadu BJP State Secretary Dr. S.G. Suryah was arrested for organizing a signature campaign titled ‘Equal Education is Our Right’ in support of the three-language policy in state education. The initiative aimed to bridge the educational gap between government school students and those in private matriculation and CBSE institutions—an idea strongly opposed by the ruling DMK.
BREAKING NEWS- Tamil Nadu BJP leader Dr SG Suryah arrested by police for asking students to sign for Equal Education Right. pic.twitter.com/93GIe4WrWE
— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) March 7, 2025
Suryah was booked under the Juvenile Justice Act 2015 along with Sections 126(2) – (intentionally prevents another person from moving in a direction) and 192 (intentionally provokes others to commit a riot) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
On 5 March 2025, the Tamil Nadu BJP launched the campaign ‘Samakalvi Engal Urimai’ (Equal Education is Our Right), advocating for the implementation of the three-language formula outlined in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The campaign was inaugurated in Chennai by former Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and ex-Union Minister Pon. Radhakrishnan. A dedicated website has also been launched to collect digital signatures.
BJP State President K. Annamalai stated that the party planned to hold multiple public meetings across Tamil Nadu and conduct door-to-door visits to gather support. The goal was to secure one crore signatures by the end of May and submit them to the President of India. To facilitate participation, the BJP also launched the website puthiyakalvi.in for online signature collection.
As part of this drive, BJP members engaged with the public directly to gain support. However, tensions escalated when senior BJP leader Tamilisai Soundararajan attempted to gather signatures at Chennai’s MGR Nagar market, where police intervened, leading to chaos.
Similarly, another signature collection effort took place outside the Government Higher Secondary School in Karapakkam, near Sholinganallur, where BJP members discussed the three-language policy with students. This led to allegations that BJP members were coercing government school students into signing by allegedly offering them biscuits. In response, the Chennai District Child Protection Welfare Committee filed a complaint.
BRING IT ON! This time TAMILS WILL NOT bow to #DMK’s gimmicks. In Tamil soil, DMK found its FIRST ever REAL ideological opponent in last 76 Years in #BJP ! @annamalai_k#சமக்கல்வி_எங்கள்உரிமை அதைக் கொடுப்பது அரசின் கடமை!
Join #EqualEducationOurRight – https://t.co/0ry2kAAUKr ! pic.twitter.com/GEY2gxxRrj
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) March 7, 2025
As a result, the Kannagi Nagar police registered cases under four sections against BJP Tamil Nadu State Secretary S.G. Suryah, along with BJP councilor Sundaram, Mohan Kumar, Kotteeswaran, and Anbarasan. Following the arrest, BJP workers staged a protest outside the police station, demanding their own arrests as well, arguing that they too had participated in the campaign. The situation escalated into a heated confrontation with the police, requiring intervention from Chemmancheri Assistant Commissioner Vaishnavi, who eventually dispersed the crowd.
SG Suryah and others who were arrested were subsequently released at 10:30 PM.
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