The Hindu : Vaiko released from prison, begins campaign

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 08, 2004

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Vaiko released from prison, begins campaign

By R.K. Radhakrishnan and P.V.V. Murthi

The MDMK leader, Vaiko, leaves the Vellore jail on Saturday to a rousing welcome from his supporters who organised receptions at several places along the route to his residence in Chennai. Mr. Vaiko, who was arrested under POTA in July 2002, was given bail by a Special Court. — Photo: A. Muralitharan

VELLORE, FEB. 7. Vaiko, MDMK general secretary and POTA detenu, walked out of the Vellore Central Jail this morning after he was granted bail by a special court.

Emerging from the prison gates at 9-40 a.m., Mr. Vaiko began his election campaign right away. "Certainly I have begun my campaign now, from here," said Mr. Vaiko, dressed in his usual white dhoti-kurta, with a black shawl around his shoulders.

Communal forces would not be allowed a toehold in the State where Dravidian ideals ruled, he said. Mr. Vaiko criticised the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, for his recent comment in Kanyakumari that the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, had dedicated herself to the welfare of the State. "I am compelled to make my observation with pain. This is a lie. An atrocious lie," he said and added that a lie could, in some cases, be justified in the interest of the greater common good. But in this case, he said, Mr. Vajpayee praised her for the sake of a few Lok Sabha seats from the State. "I did not expect this from the Prime Minister."

Describing his 19-month stay in jail as "an unforgettable boon in his public life," the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader said that from prison he had fought a case in the Supreme Court to uphold the freedom of speech and expression. During his incarceration, he found time to read, write and think.

While in jail, detained under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, he had to travel 47,300 km to courts in Nagapattinam, Myiladuthurai and Poonamallee near Chennai. "No authoritarian regime can make my firm determination waver. In the jail I faced no injustice except that of my freedom being taken away from me," he said as his supporters burst crackers, raised slogans against the AIADMK Government and reaffirmed their faith in their `puratchi puyal' (revolutionary storm).

Mr. Vaiko and eight other MDMK leaders were arrested under POTA in July 2002 for pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam speeches they made a month earlier at Tirumangalam near Madurai. The other leaders were released on January 12.

The wait for the party leaders and cadre began early this morning after the Special Court for the POTA cases at Poonamallee communicated the order to set Mr. Vaiko free late last night. Since jail rules prevent the release of a prisoner after 6 p.m., Mr. Vaiko was released this morning.

Mr. Vaiko cited the fast-approaching Lok Sabha elections, the need to hold party polls, the request of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president, M. Karunanidhi, and the political situation in the State for his seeking bail.

Mr. Vaiko left in his campaign vehicle for Chennai, a route that he took on all working days to attend the trial at the Poonamallee court. The journey that usually takes just two-and-and-half hours lasted eight hours; this time, with thousands of people and local party leaders of the Pattali Makkal Katchi, the Congress, the DMK and the MDMK lining the route for a glimpse of the leader.

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