AAP leader held for 'provocative' remarks over highway project

Tamil Nadu unit Aam Aadmi Party Convener S A N Vaseegaran was arrested here today for allegedly making "provocative" statements against the state and the Central governments over the proposed Chennai-Salem Greenfield Corridor project.

"The AAP leader was arrested in Chennai based on a case that has been registered in Salem. He had made provocative statements on a news portal," a senior police officer said.

He has been charged under the Indian Penal Code for offences including "threating injury to public servant", "wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot", "intending to cause fear or alarm to the public", he told PTI.

The AAP leader had made the alleged provocative remarks in an interview to a private online news portal while opposing the Rs 10,000 crore highway project.

He had also backed the controversial remarks of Tamil actor Mansoor Ali Khan, who was later arrested for making the comments.

Vaseegaran is the latest to be arrested on similar charges. Besides, Khan, environmentalist Piyush Manush had also been detained. Both have been granted bail later.

The project, which seeks to build a 277 km long eight-lane highway connecting Salem in western Tamil Nadu and the state capital, has come in for opposition from some quarters and a section of farmers whose lands would be acquired.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami has defended the project saying it would stimulate growth like the Mumbai-Pune and Delhi-Agra expressway projects and that only a small section of farmers were opposing it.