BJP national executive member and yesteryear actor Khushbu Sundar was arrested along with party women’s wing functionaries and workers when they attempted to commence a padayatra from Madurai to Chennai to seek justice for the girl student of Anna University who was sexually assaulted last fortnight.

BJP state president K Annamalai had announced the yatra much before the Madras High Court castigated political parties for politicising the issue by holding protests not out of genuine concern but to garner media attention. The yatra was to conclude in Chennai, where a memorandum on the protection of women was to be submitted to Governor RN Ravi.

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The Tamil Nadu police, which had denied permission for the yatra, arrested Khushbu as well as the party’s Mahila Moerha state president Umarathi and others. They were released later in the evening after filing cases against them.

Condemning the arrest, Khushbu told the media that democracy has been buried in Tamil Nadu under the DMK government. “Arrest is the response of the DMK government if questions are raised. Safety of women is a serious concern. People are worried if their daughters going to schools and colleges would return home safely.”

She further questioned who was the ‘Sir’ whose call the accused reportedly received while sexually assaulting the girl student. “Is it that difficult to find the person in this age of technology?” she asked the government.

Annamalai slammed the government for foiling the padayatra and charged that the government was trying to protect the accused since he belonged to the DMK. In an ‘X’ post, he said, “The real face of the DMK has been exposed.”

Meanwhile, TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai came out in support of political parties holding peaceful protests. “The police have denied permission to the Congress to hold demonstrations and protests. Our party workers too have been arrested,” he said. Earlier, another key ally of the DMK, VCK president Thol Thirumavalavan, had criticised the denial of permission for protests and urged the government to ensure a fair and transparent investigation into the sexual assault case.