FIR filed against DMK leader Stalin for protest against trust vote at Chennai's Marina Beach

Chennai: The Chennai Police has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against DMK Working President and Leader of the Opposition MK Stalin for holding a protest in Chennai on Saturday. 

Yesterday, on a day of swift and sudden developments, Stalin had emerged from the House 'with his shirt open' and sat in protest near the Mahatma Gandhi statue on Chennai's Marina beach against the manner in which he and his party legislators were evicted from the state assembly during the trust vote.

He along with other protesting DMK MLAs were detained by the city police from the Marina Beach. 

"We may have done some mistake knowingly or unknowingly. I apologized to the Speaker and pleaded with him to conduct secret voting. But he did not budge," he told reporters on Saturday evening. 

Before staging a demonstration at the Marina Beach, Stalin met Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao and lodged a complaint against the happenings in the assembly.

"DMK had demanded secret ballot to decide on the motion of confidence moved by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami," Stalin said while speaking to reporters after he and his party legislators were evicted from the House.

He said the party demanded adjournment of the House for a week so that legislators can go back to their constituencies and seek the people`s views before they come back to vote on the confidence motion.

Stalin also alleged that he was manhandled in the Assembly by the marshals on the day of the vote of confidence, which the Palaniswami government won with support from 122 MLAs against that of 11.

The DMK held protest in several parts of the state yesterday questioning the legitimacy of the government. 

"It is a black day for democracy. This anti-people (AIADMK) government must be removed. Insisting that a peaceful protest is underway at the Marina. Those who want to remove this anti-democratic government should converge at the Marina," the DMK leader said in a statement.