Yogendra Yadav arrested en route to a meeting with farmers in Tamil Nadu

Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav was arrested in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu when he was on his way to express solidarity with farmers protesting against the proposed Salem-Chennai Expressway project, police said.

''Finally, I have been arrested. My crime: wanting to meet farmers in their home. Where is rule of law?'' he tweeted.

Earlier Yadav said he was detained at Chengam in this district, they said without elaborating.

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The Swaraj Abhiyan leader tweeted that he was "manhandled" and pushed into a police van.

"We came on the invitation of Movement Against 8Lane Way. We were prevented from going to meet farmers, phones snatched, manhandled and pushed into police van. Firsthand experience of police state in TN," he said.

Yadav said he had come here for conducting a fact-finding about acquisition when he was stopped from proceeding.

The Rs 10,000 crore eight-lane expressway connecting Salem and Chennai is being opposed by a section of farmers and landowners who do not want to part with their land.

DMK leader M K Stalin condemned the "arbitrary detention. "The DMK strongly condemns the arbitrary detention of @_SwarajIndia chief @_YogendraYadav who supported farmers affected by #ChennaiSalemExpressway project," he tweeted.

The "intolerant" AIADMK government will pay the price for denying people the democratic right to dissent and protest, Stalin added.

Meanwhile. Makkal Neethi Maiam founder- president Kamal Haasan condemned the detention of Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav.

He said 'brother' Yadav, "a politician from a different state" had come to learn about the opinion of the farmers of our state".

"This act is to be criticised and condemned, as it prevents opinions from being shared and is an act of dictatorship," Haasan said in a statement here.

People should have the freedom to express their views without fear, the actor-turned-politician added.