Chennai: TVK’s election plans faced setbacks as permission was not granted for its candidate introduction event on Friday and for its president Vijay’s campaign on Saturday. TVK’s election office in Villivakkam is also facing closure citing violations.TVK functionaries said the party had planned to organise a public meet at Mullai Nagar junction in Perambur on Saturday. But the permission was rejected citing inadequate space to accommodate the proposed 3,000 attendees.”The obstruction created jointly by the Chennai city police and certain officials against our campaign is nothing but a fascist attack on democracy,” said Vijay.He said permission was sought on March 26, two days ahead of the event, but alleged that Greater Chennai Corporation suddenly dug up the venue and placed iron barricades. “Should DMK govt not feel ashamed for acting against TVK with the support of certain officials? This shows the extent to which DMK fears TVK,” he added.In response, Perambur’s returning officer said permission was rejected as the location was unsuitable to accommodate 3,000 people. TVK has now applied to hold a scaled-down meeting in Perambur on March 30 with about 100 participants.Meanwhile, HR&CE department has issued a notice to TVK saying the party’s election office in Villivakkam is on a parcel of land that belongs to a temple. Party leader Aadhav Arjuna alleged that ministers were pressuring officials to block permissions for TVK’s election events across the state.The party has postponed its event to introduce candidates for all 234 constituencies from Friday to Sunday as permission was not granted for the event. District election officer Kumaragurubaran said applications for poll events should be submitted through the Suvidha app at least 48 hours in advance, not a day prior through paper submissions. TVK leader C T R Nirmal Kumar responded that Kumaragurubaran is misleading the public. “We applied through the app but returning officers are blocking approvals.” He said a representation was made to chief electoral officer Archana Patnaik seeking intervention. He added that the party would finalise Vijay’s campaign schedule from March 30 and ensure that permissions are sought well in advance.
