Tamil Nadu CPI(M) state secretary P Shanmugam on Thursday wrote to chief minister C Joseph Vijay, seeking action against the state chief secretary over an alleged directive to officials to prevent students from participating in protests organised by Left parties.
Shanmugam alleged that the chief secretary had held a meeting with senior officials and instructed the School Education, Higher Education, Police and District Administration departments to take steps to stop students from joining protests by Left parties. The party has demanded that the Chief Minister take immediate action against the chief secretary over the alleged instructions. Shanmugam had also demanded the immediate publication of the report of the Machendranathan committee, constituted by the previous DMK government to examine the feasibility of the proposed greenfield airport at Parandur and address public concerns over the project.
The development comes a day after Shanmugam raised several issues concerning the state government while launching the CPI(M)’s statewide mass outreach campaign, which will run from August 26 to August 31.
The CPI(M) described the alleged directive as “illegal” and “unconstitutional”, accusing the government administration of attempting to suppress the activities of Left parties and prevent students from participating in political protests. Questioning why the report had not been made public, Shanmugam said the DMK government had remained in power for two years after the committee submitted its findings but did not release them. Launching the statewide campaign, Shanmugam said CPI(M) cadres would reach out to people across Tamil Nadu to highlight what the party described as the adverse impact of the Union government’s economic and communal policies.
