CHENNAI: Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) chief coordinator Seeman on Tuesday condemned the arrest of party functionaries, including its Dharapuram by-election candidate M Karthika and her husband Murugachandrakumar, and accused the TVK government of filing false cases out of political vendetta.

In a statement, Seeman said the arrests were linked to a protest Karthika and other NTK cadres organised along the route Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay took during his roadshow on the final day of campaigning for the Dharapuram by-election, after the party was denied permission to campaign.

Describing the arrests of seven NTK functionaries as an act of political repression, Seeman accused the government of misusing the police to target political opponents instead of addressing law and order issues in the State.

He questioned the government's response to alleged incidents involving ruling party functionaries, including a drug smuggling case in Nagapattinam, a sexual harassment allegation against a party district secretary in Ranipet and an attack on journalists involving a sitting MLA. He alleged that the police were acting selectively against opposition party members.

Seeman also criticised Vijay for allegedly repeating the mistakes of previous Dravidian governments, warning that political power was not permanent. He said NTK cadres would not be intimidated by arrests or police action and accused the government of failing to address administrative shortcomings and public grievances.

Claiming the government was focusing on political retaliation while people protested administrative failures, Seeman warned the regime's downfall was not far away.

He demanded the immediate release of Karthika, her husband and the other arrested NTK functionaries, warning the government of consequences if they were not freed. The allegations against the government and the circumstances surrounding the arrests were not independently verified.