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Centre rejects DMK demand for
Article 356 in Tamil Nadu

Union Minister For State For Home I D Swami on Saturday rejected the demand made by the DMK and its allies for invoking Article 356 in Tamil Nadu for the manner in which the state government had gone about arresting former chief minister K Karunanidhi.

DMK was particularly agitated about the conduct of the Tamil Nadu police. Both Karunanidhi and Maran were manhandled by the police and the latter even had to be hospitalised.

"Prime Minister Vajpayee is already seized of the matter and has asked for details of the incident from the state chief secretary."

"Union Minister for Law and Justice Arun Jaitley is also keeping a tab on the developments and has asked for a report on the arrest of a Union minister (T R Baalu)," Swami told rediff.com from his residence in Karnal.

He said that it was not easy for the Centre to intervene in matters that were directly under the jurisdiction of the state government.

"Law and order is a state subject and the Centre has very little say in such matters. The government is bound by the Sarkaria Commission report," Swami said.

The government was awaiting the report on the developments in Tamil Nadu. "It is only after receiving a report from the Governor that further action would be contemplated," he said.

Asked if the Tamil Nadu police was right, keeping their age in mind, in arresting Karunanidhi and his political associates in the middle of the night, Swami said that there was no law which prevented it.

"There is no law that says citizens over 70 cannot be arrested at night," he said.

Karunanidhi's Arrest: The Complete Coverage

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