CHENNAI: The DMK on Thursday lashed out at Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led TVK for not explicitly naming the BJP government in its condemnation of the arrest of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after a protest in the national capital demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

Questioning the TVK’s statement, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan pointed out that it failed to identify the authorities responsible for the action against the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. “Who arrested Rahul Gandhi? They should condemn and explicitly mention the name of the BJP government,” Elangovan said.

“Rahul Gandhi is fighting for a cause - that the Election Commission is not acting as a neutral body and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is failing in his duty as a neutral authority”, Elangovan said, detailing the circumstances leading to the arrest, and noted that Rahul Gandhi was stopped and detained by the Delhi Police while heading to meet the CEC.

“It is the fundamental right of every political party to meet the CEC, but this government is not allowing the Leader of the Opposition to do so. Who should be blamed? The arrest was made by the Delhi Police, which comes under the control of the BJP-led Union government,” Elangovan stated, adding that TVK “has no guts” to name the ruling party at the Centre.

When asked about reports suggesting Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit Chennai on October 10 and would share a platform with Chief Minister Vijay, Elangovan declined to comment.

He allged that CM Vijay didn’t visit his constituency Perambur when it faced severe power cuts, but visited later as a stunt.