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Defence Minister and National Democratic Alliance convenor George Fernandes termed as 'very unfortunate' the arrest of Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko under Prevention of Terrorism Act for his pro-Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam statements.
"I can only say his arrest is very unfortunate.... it will not be fair to make any further comment on the issue at this juncture," he said in Delhi.
Asked if Vaiko's arrest would 'open the floodgates' for the misuse of the Act against political adversaries by parties in power, he said, "There is a possibility, but then there are other legal tools available to the victims (of misuse)."
He replied in a terse 'no' when asked if the NDA has opened channels of communication with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on the issue.
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