CHENNAI: CPI state secretary M Veerapandian made a balancing act on Saturday by issuing one condemnation of former ally DMK MLA Anita R Radhakrishnan for his alleged defamatory speech against Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, adding to it a criticism of minister Aadhav Arjuna for his remarks terming that DMK killed all those 41 people during Vijay's rally in Karur with the help of cops, urging political leaders to uphold civility in public life.
Veerapandian called for dignified public discourse, taking aim at both the present and former ministers. Remarks about the Chief Minister's personal life at a public meeting in Thoothukudi deserved strong condemnation, but arrest for it is too much, he said.
He said everyone had the democratic right to criticise the government's actions and the policy decisions of political parties, and such criticism strengthened healthy democratic practices. However, discussing the personal lives of political leaders in public and making derogatory remarks crossed the limits of political decency and amounted to a legal violation, he said, adding that it was the government's responsibility to take action in such cases.
At the same time, Veerapandian said the police should have avoided taking the extreme step of forcibly arresting a sitting MLA.
Turning to the ruling party, he also criticised Public Works and Sports Development Minister Aadhav Arjuna for his remarks at a party meeting about the Karur incident as premeditated murder for which he will 'settle scores.'
Such comments were unacceptable and did not befit the office held by a minister, Veerapandian said.
He said his party urged all those in public life, irrespective of political affiliation, to preserve political civility and uphold high standards of democratic culture.