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Without challenging the constitutional validity of the Prevention of Terrorism Act, which the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had supported both inside and outside Parliament, an MDMK worker has questioned the legality of the detention of party general secretary V Gopalasamy aka Vaiko and eight others.
In her petition, Karpagam has sought the release of all MDMK leaders arrested under section 52 of POTA read with section 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code.
The petition also urged the court to declare unconstitutional the Tamil Nadu government's alleged misuse of POTA against political parties. The plea assumes significance in the light of Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's announcement that the government will initiate steps under POTA to ban the MDMK.
Claiming that the activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka have been accepted as a fight for freedom the world over, the petitioner said Vaiko had not indulged in any 'unlawful activities' prohibited under POTA.
The state director general of police and the sub-inspector, Thirumangalam, have been named among the respondents.
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