In a bid to save democracy from the “reel government” in Tamil Nadu, DMK would endure any harassment and imprisonment, Vilathikulam MLA G.V. Markandayan has said.Speaking to reporters after being released on bail from Palayamkottai Central Prison where he had been under judicial custody for his alleged derogatory remarks and threats to Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, Mr. Markandayan said incarceration was not new for the DMK, which had undergone even the MISA tortures.As the autocratic governance was questioned by the DMK, the party that gave “historic governance” in the last five years under the leadership of M.K. Stalin, was being targeted, he said.“Representing Vilathikulam Assembly constituency, which had produced freedom fighters, I objected to the snatching away of democratic rights that led to harsher words. The government is trying to crush the democratic rights of freedom of expression. The invigorated DMK men, who have seen the prisons on several occasions in the past, are even ready now to undergo any ordeal for saving democracy. The DMK will give a fitting reply to this ‘reel government’ in the Assembly,” Mr. Markandayan said.When asked if he would attend the Assembly session starting on Wednesday, even as he had been enlarged on conditional bail by the Madras High Court, he said he would fulfil his democratic duty. Published - August 04, 2026 10:01 pm IST