Blanket ban on political events is unacceptable: Anbumani

PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss on Sunday urged the State government to allow political parties to hold rallies and gatherings at public places “until safety regulations for public meetings are determined”. He appealed to political parties to accept and comply with the reasonable conditions imposed by the government for the safe conduct of political meetings.

In a statement, he said it was unacceptable to impose a blanket ban on all political events citing one tragic incident (Karur stampede) “where the organisers (actor Vijay’s TVK) did not follow rules and the police did not properly manage the event”.

Permissions for rallies, which were earlier granted for political parties, including the PMK, were cancelled and fresh requests were rejected based on certain orders issued by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, which heard petitions related to the death of 41 people in a stampede at the TVK rally in Karur on September 27.

“In an interim order on those petitions, the Madurai Bench has directed that ‘no party shall be permitted to hold public meetings on National or State Highways’. The interim order says this ban does not apply to places already allocated for public meetings. Where no place has been allocated for public meetings in any area, the officers concerned must identify and provide such locations to political parties. If the locations so provided are safe and have access for emergency vehicles, including ambulances, meetings may be permitted there subject to conditions,” Dr. Anbumani said.

He added: “Permissions given for the PMK’s padayatra tours in Madurai and Tirunelveli have been cancelled and permission has only been given to hold meetings in locations away from town centre. The police insist that no decisions can be taken until rules for conducting public meetings are framed.”