MDMK chief Vaiko convicted in 2009 sedition case, sentenced to 1 year in jail

MDMK chief Vaiko was on Friday convicted by a Chennai court in the 2009 sedition case filed by the Tamil Nadu government and sentenced him to one year of imprisonment. Hearing the case, Judge J Shanthi held Vaiko guilty of sedition.

During the launch of his book "Naan Kutram Sattugiren (I am Making the Accusation)” in 2009, Vaiko had said, "India will not remain one country if the war against the LTTE in Sri Lanka is not stopped."

The police had registered a case against the MDMK leader under Section 124 (A) of the Indian Penal Code on a complaint filed by the Tamil Nadu government for speaking against India's sovereignty.

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Vaiko, who was present in the court, said he never sought any leniency. The 75-year old leader is a staunch supporter of the cause of Tamils in Sri Lanka and had been a DMK Rajya Sabha member from 1978 to 1996. A petition was filed to suspend the conviction enabling an appeal against the order. Subsequently, the conviction and sentence were stayed for one month.

Recently, the MDMK had named Vaiko as its candidate from Tamil Nadu for the July 18 Rajya Sabha polls. A high-level MDMK meet in Chennai decided to nominate its chief Vaiko for the lone seat allotted to it by the DMK as part of a pre-poll agreement. A resolution in this regard was adopted in the meet.