CHENNAI: DMK president and former chief minister M K Stalin on Tuesday condemned the arrest of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) candidate M Karthika in connection with a case registered during the Dharapuram Assembly bypoll, accusing the ruling TVK government of political vendetta and authoritarianism.

Demanding the unconditional release of Karthika and other NTK functionaries, Stalin alleged that the government was using arrests to intimidate political opponents and deflect attention from its administrative failures.

“Women from oppressed communities who enter public life must be welcomed and encouraged, irrespective of ideological differences. What does this government hope to achieve by arresting and intimidating them?” he asked in a statement.

Stalin said the DMK had responded politically and ideologically when Karthika criticised the party and its ideological leaders in the past, rather than seeking to silence her through arrests.

Accusing the C Joseph Vijay-led coalition government of misusing official machinery during the bypoll, he said the arrest of NTK functionaries for questioning alleged electoral malpractice reflected intolerance and vindictiveness.

He cautioned police officers against becoming instruments of political vendetta, warning that arrests in cases ordinarily warranting bail could invite judicial censure.

Stalin further alleged that the arrests were intended to divert public attention from a major drug-trafficking case involving a TVK functionary and his associates, as well as the government’s administrative shortcomings. He also accused the ruling party of shielding individuals allegedly involved in threatening journalists and a gang rape case.

Drawing a parallel with the BJP-led government at the Centre, Stalin said the competition to protect accused persons and arrest those who protested was now between the BJP in Delhi and the TVK in Tamil Nadu.