TN BJP secretary arrested, Annamalai slams ruling DMK

Tamil Nadu BJP leader S G Suryah was arrested by the police from Chennai late on Friday, with the party's state unit chief K Annamalai slamming the move as an attempt to ''curtail free speech.'' Police sources said the action was based on a CPI(M) complaint against a social media post of the BJP state secretary.

Suryah was arrested under sections of IPC and the IT Act, police said.

''The arrest of @BJP4TamilNadu State Secretary Thiru @SuryahSG avl is highly condemnable. His only mistake was to expose the nasty double standards of the communists, allies of DMK. Using state machinery to curtail free speech & getting jittery for the slightest criticism is unbecoming of a democratically elected leader and, indeed, are signs of an autocratic leader in the making,'' Annamalai tweeted.

''These arrests will not deter us & we will continue to be bearers of the uncomfortable truth!'' he added.