Bypoll candidate held: Tamil Nadu's ruling TVK and the opposition trade charges over Dharapuram

Chennai: Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) Dharapuram bypoll candidate M. Karthika and nine others were arrested by police on Tuesday. On October 4, Karthika and 20 others were detained for staging a road blockade protesting the denial of permission to campaign along the route of Chief Minister Vijay's roadshow.
Opposition parties reacted sharply to the arrest, calling the action politically motivated and attacking the TVK government. NTK leader Seeman also took aim at the government.
Separately, DMK councillor Sudha Deenadayalan, representing Ward 95 in the Villivakkam area, has been booked over alleged 'defamatory' remarks against Chief Minister Vijay. The complainant alleged that she used objectionable language against the Chief Minister.
In addition, former Tamil Nadu finance minister and DMK leader Thangam Thennarasu has questioned the TVK government's claims about lower borrowing. TVK has said the state's borrowings through bonds fell by 21 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal year. Thennarasu said the fall was mainly due to slowing capital expenditure, and demanded full transparency from the government.
The arrest has revived the political row over the treatment of opposition candidates in the run-up to the bypoll. NTK leader Seeman has attacked the TVK government, while the opposition has described the police action as politically motivated. The DMK councillor's case relates to remarks about the Chief Minister, according to the complainant.
The Dharapuram bypoll is being held amid a politically charged period in the state, with the ruling TVK and the opposition trading charges over law and order and finance. The case has added to the friction between the two sides ahead of voting.