Tamil Nadu: Amar Prasad Reddy, a BJP politician, was detained by police till 3 November over a flagpole removal dispute

 Tamil Nadu: Amar Prasad Reddy, a BJP politician, was detained by police till 3 November over a flagpole removal dispute

Amar Prasad Reddy, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Tamil Nadu, was brought before the Chennai Magistrate Court on October 21 and was sent to judicial detention till November 3.

He had previously been detained by police for reportedly raising a commotion over the dismantling of a flagpole from outside the Panaiyur, Chennai, home of BJP State President K Annamalai.

In the meanwhile, the BJP on Saturday denounced the police's detention of party officials who were protesting the removal of the party flag from Panaiyur on Chennai's East Coast Road.

Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, a BJP national co-in charge for Tamil Nadu, said that the arrest of several BJP workers outside the city was "pure political motivation, uncalled for, and unwarranted."

Amar Prasad Reddy, the state president of the party's sports and skill development cell, as well as party officials Surendra Kumar, Balakumar, Kanniappan, Vinod Kumar, and Senthil Kumar were all detained by the state police for blocking the removal of the party flagpole and causing damage to public property.

The flagpole, which was purportedly built on property owned by the roads department, was taken down early on Saturday following a complaint by local officials and the police.

Vivin Bhaskaran, the state secretary of the BJP's IT branch, was seriously hurt during the protest when a huge group of party members who had gathered near to Annamalai's home tried to stop the police from taking down the flagpole, according to the party.

According to the police, they had to hold a sizable number of partygoers before releasing them. According to them, six people were detained for causing damage to public property.

"The dismantling of the flagpole near K Annamalai, the state president of Tamil Nadu,'s home on the outskirts of Chennai, and the arrest of BJP karyakartas are severely opposed... Reddy said that it is unlawful to restrict democratic rights.

In the meanwhile, Annamalai declared that his party will build 10,000 flagpoles around the state, with the last one going up in Panaiyur after being "forcefully removed by the police."