The book on the Rafale deal, copies of which were seized by an election commission squad in Chennai before being finally allowed to be released, has flown off the shelves. All 8,000 copies were sold out within hours, and another 10,000 copies are going to be out soon. An official of the “squad” had referred to a letter on a plain paper with no official stamp directing the publishers to cancel the release of the book.
Earlier, the Election Commission said it did not authorise anyone to seize a Tamil book on the Rafale deal. Action has been taken against officials involved in the action, Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa said Thursday. All those involved in the action have been removed, Lavasa said. The Commission has sought a report on the entire episode from Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo, he told reporters in Chennai
“It was brought to our knowledge through electronic media. The EC learnt about it, we were informed that the CEO or the EC has not authorised this kind of action taken by the flying squad,” Lavasa said. “The moment we came to know about it and after ascertaining the details, the concerned flying squad has been changed. All officials involved in the action have been removed. We are awaiting a full report on how it happened from the CEO,” he added.
On Tuesday, a flying squad – that included police officers – reportedly seized over 100 copies of the book titled Naatai Ulukkum Rafale Paera Oozhal (Rafale: The scam that shook the nation) from publisher’s outlet Bharathi Puthakalayam just before its launch scheduled in the evening.
Editor of the publishing house P K Rajan said the police officials cited violation of the model code of conduct to seize the books. However, the books were returned in the evening and the launch took place as per schedule. Speaking to PTI, Bharathi Puthagalayam publisher K Nagarajan said 8,000 copies have been sold in over 30 outlets across the state and orders have been placed for 10,000 more copies.
Authored by a Chennai-based engineer S Vijayan, the book urges readers to defeat the AIADMK-led alliance in the coming Lok Sabha elections.
(With PTI inputs)
