Goondas Act abused by AIADMK government: MK

CHENNAI: DMK president M Karunanidhi, on Saturday, accused the AIADMK government of misusing the Goondas Act with ulterior motives against his party men. Karunanidhi described the Goondas Act as draconian, and noted that 323 persons had been detained under this law across TN during the first 100 days of the AIADMK’s rule.“This is among the achievements of the AIADMK. What is the reason for arresting so many persons under the harsh law?” he asked. “Either crimes should have increased, or the law must has been used wrongly for intimidating people. Both these factors are behind the AIADMK regime taking recourse to the law,” he alleged. The Goondas Act was basically against human rights, he said before invoking the rigid law, it must be reasoned many times if it was really needed.“The law has been invoked against 15 DMK men. It is supposed to be slapped on persons charged with serious offences. It is not known as to how the provisions of the Goondas Act will be applicable to them.”Lamenting that his party men were languishing in jails without recourse to bail as the Goondas Act entailed incarceration for at least a year, he said such measures would not intimidate DMK workers. “They have encountered bigger challenges and have come out stronger,” he added.