The Tamil Nadu police showed remarkable alacrity in blocking the release of a book on the Rafale defence deal in Chennai on Tuesday, citing the model code of conduct. Significantly, the book was supposed to be released by journalist N Ram, who is also the Chairman of The Hindu, and who has himself had authored multiple news reports on the deal.
The publisher of S Vijayan’s “Rafale: The Scam That Rocked The Nation” had asked for permission to release the book at a school. But the school said no, citing the Election Commission’s objection. Later, when the publisher, Bharati Publication, decided to organise the event in its office, a flying squad of election officers and the local police confiscated 142 copies.
Later, after the media outcry, there was a clarification from Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer that neither the Election Commission nor the CEO’s office had “issued any instructions in this regard”. Now, the book will be released as planned.
