Chennai: The Madras High Court has ordered the Tamil Nadu government to issue guidelines for meetings, rallies and processions of political parties within the next 10 days. Madras High Court Chief Justice M. M. A bench of Justices Srivastava and Arulmurugan heard the matter.
Additional chief government advocate Ravindran, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, said guidelines were being prepared for party meetings. Comments are being received from the districts. From now on, all parties will be allowed to rally only at designated places.
The district administration will allow the meetings in such a way that the public and traffic are not affected. Permission will be granted only if the party holding the meeting provides drinking water, toilets and adequate facilities. No party meeting will be allowed on national highways. The order will remain in force till the guidelines come into force.
Advocates appearing for TVK and ADMK said that besides bringing guidelines, the police should allow for the party meeting on time. Permission should not be given late. If permission is granted 3 days before the meeting, the parties cannot make any preparations. Guidelines should be included to allow on time. Police are unilaterally banning other party meetings.
The public prosecutor said the procedures were being prepared so that there would be no delay in granting permission in the future. Subsequently, the judges hearing the case questioned how many more days it would take, as the Tamil Nadu government had said the guidelines would be issued by October 3.
The judges adjourned the hearing to November 11, asking the Tamil Nadu government to issue rules for holding political parties and public meetings within 10 days. If the government does not do so, the court itself will issue the appropriate order.
The tragic incident of Karur:
The incident that killed 41 people in a crowd during an election rally in Karur, Tamil Nadu, shook the entire country. Vijay was allowed to campaign in Namakkal and Karur districts on September 27. It was 3 pm in Karur, but Vijay reached Veluchamipuram after 7 pm. Said for a few minutes. During the speech, some people fell unconscious. Which caused a stampede.
A few minutes later, there was a scuffle in the crowd and people fell on top of each other. People from Karur, Tirupur, Erode, Salem and Dindigul districts were trapped. A total of 41 deaths occurred with 10 children, 16 women and 15 men.
