DMK working President MK Stalin has been detained for staging a public protest and raising slogans against the Ram Rajya Rath Yatra, which entered Tamil Nadu today.
Stalin had written to Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's government urging him not to allow Vishwa Hindu Parishad's rath yatra to enter the state borders as it could disrupt the communal harmony.
Apart from the DMK leader, four independent MLAs also moved a petition urging the government to deny the rath yatra permission to proceed into Tamil Nadu from Kerala.
Meanwhile, Section 144 has been imposed in Tirunelveli district and will be in force till Friday evening since several pro-Tamil, minority and Left groups are expected to attempt to block the yatra.
The police on Tuesday detained Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) leader Thol Thirumavalavan as he was trying to stop the yatra in Tirunelveli district's Sengottai.
The yatra began in Uttar Pradesh on February 13 and is scheduled to end in Rameshwaram, a region in southern Tamil Nadu that features in the Hindu epic Ramayan.
The yatra entered Puliyarai in Tirunelveli today via Punalur in Kerala and will pass through Sengottai, Ilangi, Tenkasi, Kadayanalloor, Puliyangudi, Vasudevanalloor, Sivagiri and proceed to Rameswaram via Rajapalayam and Madurai. Parties including DMK, MDMK, VCK, NTK and others have been demanding the government not to give permission for the yatra.
