DMK's Intolerance To Criticism Continues — Tamil YouTuber And NTK Member Was Lucky To Be Released Soon After Arrest

Well-known Tamil YouTuber and Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) member ‘Sattai’ Duraimurugan was arrested Thursday (11 July) by the cybercrime police over remarks about former chief minister M Karunanidhi.

This incident follows a pattern of arrests made under the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) regime for remarks on social media, especially criticism of the government.

Duraimurugan was lucky that he got away in a day's time. Others, like publisher Badri Seshadri, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders S G Suryah and Selvakumar, All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s (AIADMK) V Gowtham, and social media influencers like Uma Gargi faced several days in jail before they could secure bail.

Critics say that many of these arrests are tactically made on a weekend to ensure that bail is not obtained quickly. They also say that the DMK’s functionaries and supporters often post derogatory content, but no action is taken against them.

Furthermore, distance from Tamil Nadu doesn't seem to be a bar. In 2023, state police reached Noida to arrest journalist Abhijit Majumder for an opinion piece on Udhayanidhi Stalin’s remarks about eradicating Sanatana Dharma. BJP functionary John Ravi was arrested in Gujarat for satirical social media posts.

Seeman, NTK leader, supported Duraimurugan, calling his arrest a misuse of power by the DMK. He said Duraimurugan only sang a song written by someone else.

Singing the same song — which describes Karunanidhi as a 'forger', 'conspirator', and 'villain' — Seeman challenged the police to arrest him too.

Condemning the arrest, BJP’s K Annamalai wrote on X that using the Prevention of Atrocities on SC/STs Act due to a certain word in the song was wrong. He noted that Karunanidhi himself had used the word multiple times in his Facebook posts.

Further, he questioned why the DMK took no action against ministers Rajakannappan and K Ponmudy for their humiliating treatment of Scheduled Caste (SC) individuals.

While Duraimurugan secured a rare same-day release after being produced before the magistrate, it may not be the end of troubles for him.

He is currently out on bail in a similar case for criticising Chief Minister M K Stalin in 2021 and is under the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) radar for having links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Coming to what might have caused the arrest, two theories are doing the rounds.

The first suggests that the DMK feels threatened by the rise of the NTK (the party secured over 8 per cent vote share in the recent Lok Sabha election). The second proposes that this could be the government's way of deflecting attention from the murder of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader K Armstrong.

Whatever the reason, the arrest appears to be a clear case of overreach. It highlights yet another unfortunate instance of how the DMK government curbs freedom of speech in Tamil Nadu while often criticising the Modi government as 'dictatorial' and 'fascist'. They themselves cannot hear the slightest amount of criticism.

Also Read: Badri Seshadri Is Only The Latest In A String Of Arrests