CHENNAI: The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam has filed a petition before the Madras High Court seeking to quash the guidelines issued by the Tamil Nadu government to regulate roadshows conducted by political parties.
The guidelines were framed in the aftermath of a stampede during a public interaction programme organised by TVK in Karur, in which 41 people lost their lives.
Acting on directions of the High Court, the State government formulated the norms governing political roadshows and notified them in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on January 5.
Challenging the guidelines, TVK Joint General Secretary CTR Nirmalkumar has filed a writ petition contending that the norms accord priority to recognised political parties while granting permission for roadshows, thereby adversely affecting registered but unrecognised parties.
The petition further stated that the conditions prescribed in the guidelines were impractical and impossible to comply with, effectively preventing political parties from obtaining permission to conduct public programmes.
It also alleged that responsibilities that ought to be discharged by the state government had been unfairly shifted to political parties under the guise of regulatory conditions.
The petitioner further claimed that the objections and suggestions submitted by TVK opposing the present guidelines were not considered before they were notified.
Seeking relief, the petition has prayed for quashing of the existing guidelines and for a direction to the state government to frame fresh guidelines after taking into account the views of all stakeholders.
The petition is expected to come up for hearing shortly.