COIMBATORE: K Annamalai, founder of We The Leaders, on Tuesday accused the police of acting at the ruling party's behest.

Speaking to reporters in Coimbatore, Annamalai questioned the arrest of NTK functionary M Karthika in connection with a protest during Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s roadshow in Dharapuram during by-polls. “Instead of police coming all the way from Dharapuram to Coimbatore to take her into custody, the police could have summoned her to the station as it is not a serious case. The timing of the arrest, after the election, had also raised several questions,” he said.

Accusing the TVK government of repeating mistakes made by the previous DMK regime, Annamalai urged Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to take stringent action against ruling party functionaries involved in drug trafficking cases. He also criticised the state government for not taking adequate measures ahead of the North East monsoon.

Annamalai said We The Leaders favours contesting the local body polls independently to take its ideas and plans to the people. “We would enter the electoral fray as a movement as it is not necessary to contest under a political party’s name,” he said.

Calling for a ban on social media use by those under 18 over its adverse impact on children, Annamalai claimed that enrolment in classes 10 and 12 had fallen by 9 per cent among boys and 6 per cent among girls. “The state government should take corrective measures,” he said.