In response to widespread criticism for invoking the Goondas Act against farmers protesting the land acquisition for the SIPCOT project in Melma, Cheyyar taluk, Tiruvannamalai district, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced the revocation of the decision on 17 November 2023.
The Chief Minister clarified in his statement that the detention law was initially invoked due to allegations that the accused had obstructed government officials from performing their duties, disrupted public order by blocking roads, and prevented farmers from willingly giving away their land for the SIPCOT project.
Six of the seven persons who were detained were released after their family members met with Cheyyar MLA and Minister for Public Works, Highways, and Minor Ports, E V Velu, and requested their release, as mentioned in the Chief Minister’s statement.
However, the decision to invoke the Goondas Act against environmental activist Arul Arumugam has not been rescinded. Arumugam gained prominence for his opposition to the Chennai-Salem eight-lane highway project during the previous AIADMK regime.
Earlier on the same day, various political parties, including the AIADMK and the BJP, called on the DMK government to reconsider the detention of the farmers under the Goondas Act.
EV Velu Statement
Addressing reporters, E V Velu defended the government’s intention to provide jobs for the educated youth in the district, accusing “outsiders” of creating trouble. Velu claimed that one of the detained individuals, Devan, did not own any land and labelled Arul from Krishnagiri as the chief instigator behind the protest, alleging a pre-planned hindrance to development work.
Contradicting these claims, Devan’s father stated he did not support the protest, while Devan’s wife, D Kalaiselvi, mentioned that some DMK members intimidated the family and coerced her father-in-law to speak against his son.
In a video shared by activist group Arappor Iyakkam, Devan’s father is seen saying, “Sir, I am Devan’s father speaking. Yesterday around 2, 10 people from the DMK came to my house and called my daughter-in-law to come to the Taluk office and sign the papers. She was scared and said she wouldn’t go. So they called my wife, and she also refused to go. Then they forced me to go with them. I went and sat in the car, they took me to Cheyyar. We went with MLA Jyothi. On the way, they asked to say this and that. I listened to everything and told the same to Minister Velu. I don’t know anything else. But no one instigated anything. Neither Arul nor anyone else instigated us on this. Arul didn’t call my son. My son went on his own. There was no mistake in Arul’s name.”
இவர் தான் குண்டர் சட்டத்தில் கைது செய்யப்பட்ட விவசாயி தேவனின் தந்தை. அமைச்சர் #குண்டர்_சட்ட_வேலு பத்திரிக்கையாளர் சந்திப்பில் இவரை வைத்துக் கொண்டு தான் அருள் ஆறுமுகம் விவசாயிகளை அரசுக்கு எதிராக தூண்டியதாக விவசாயிகள் குடும்பம் சொன்னதாக பொய் சொல்லி நாடகம் நடத்தினார்.
அமைச்சரும்… pic.twitter.com/Ojee7WjZdz
— Arappor Iyakkam (@Arappor) November 19, 2023
In a show of solidarity, more than 2,000 residents across 10 village panchayats in Melma hoisted black flags in front of their homes on 17 November 2023 to protest what they perceived as the state’s highhandedness. The DMK government plans to acquire 3,300 acres of agricultural land for the Cheyyar SIPCOT project.
(with inputs from The New Indian Express)
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