Political Commentator Arrested For Comments On Judiciary Over Manipur

Chennai: Noted political commentator and publisher Badri Seshadri was arrested on Saturday for his ‘provocative’ remarks on Manipur violence and Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud during an interview on YouTube.

Tamil Nadu Police arrested Seshadri from his Chennai residence under Sections 153, 153A and 505(1)(B).

“The Supreme Court has said that if you (government) cannot do anything, we (the court) will. Let’s give a gun to Chandrachud and send him there. Let’s see if he can restore peace,” Seshadri said in the interview.

“It’s a hilly and complex region and murders will happen there. We can’t stop the violence from happening,” he further remarked.

The FIR against Seshadri, accessed by India Today, was filed by advocate Kaviyarasu, who stated that he had seen the YouTube interview clip of July 22, wherein Seshadri criticised the Supreme Court and CJI Chandrachud.

BJP state president Annamalai condemned Seshadri’s arrest and said the DMK government is relying only on arrests.

“Tamil Nadu BJP strongly condemns the arrest of renowned publisher and stage speaker Badri Seshadri by the Tamil Nadu Police early this morning. This corrupt DMK government is relying only on arrests without power to address the views of the common people. Is the Tamil Nadu Police’s job only to enforce the revenge measures of the corrupt DMK government?” Annamalai tweeted.