Gowda raises voice against Vaiko's arrest

New Delhi, Oct 25 (UNI) Janata Dal President and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda today expressed shock over the arrest of MDMK leader Y Gopalasamy, alias Vaiko, on charges of sedition by the Tamil Nadu Government.

In a statement, Mr Gowda said Vaiko had espoused the cause of Sri Lankan Tamils but was core patriot never uttering any word against India. The target of his criticism has been the policies pursued by the Centre on ethnic issue in the Island nation. It was not Vaiko alone who expressed strong views on the handling of the Tamil issue but unfortunately he had been targeted and it had more to do with changing political equations ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The actions of the police smacked of 'sheer political vendetta' which has no place in a mature democracy. ''I condemn such acts of political vindictiveness ... and hope that the State Government will act fast to rectify this undemocratic action without further delay," he said.

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