Tamil orator Nellai Kannan arrested on charges of provocative speech against PM Modi, Amit Shah

Chennai, Jan 01: The noted Tamil orator and former Congress leader Nellai Kannan was arrested by the Tamil Nadu Police on the New Year Eve on Wednesday after the state BJP staged a protest demanding action over his alleged provocative remarks against the Prime Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah and others.

On Wednesday evening the arrest of the Tamil orator was confirmed by the police personnel of the Tirunelveli police division.

Reportedly, it seems pressure had mounted on the police after the BJP staged a protest and gave them an ultimatum to arrest Kannan by Thursday evening.

The Tamil writer and orator Kannan had participated at a recent anti-CAA meeting organised by the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in Tirunelveli in neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Kannan reportedly landed in trouble after a video of his purported speech at the meeting against the Citizenship Amendment Acton on Saturday went viral on social media and the BJP lodged a police complaint seeking his arrest and prosecution.

According to PTI, the Tamil Nadu BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathi earlier this week lodged a police complaint, claiming that Kannan had called out the names of PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah at the meeting and told the crowd he was "shocked as to why Muslims have not yet killed the Prime Minister and Home Minister..."

On Wednesday, Several senior BJP leaders staged a protest in Chennai demanding the arrest of Kannan.

Presently, Kannan has been hospitalised after he complained of "chest pain" when police visited his home on Tuesday after registration of a case against him.