Tamil Nadu CPM demands action against officials over alleged bid to curb Left protests

Chennai, Aug 27 (IANS) CPM state secretary, P Shanmugam, has urged Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to act against the Chief Secretary, the Gujiliamparai tahsildar and officials allegedly involved in attempts to restrict Left organisations.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Shanmugam demanded cancellation of a decision taken at a meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary and withdrawal of a circular.

According to Shanmugam, the circular instructed the School Education and Higher Education departments, police and district administrations to coordinate measures aimed at preventing students and people from participating in protests organised by Left parties and the CJP.

The matter was allegedly marked “high priority” and “urgent”, with the departments directed to submit action-taken reports. Calling the directive illegal and unconstitutional, Shanmugam alleged that it deliberately singled out Left organisations.

He said a decision emerging from a meeting involving the State’s highest-ranking bureaucrat could not be dismissed as the action of a junior official and sought an explanation on the government’s position from the Chief Minister.

The CPM leader said the constitutional right to protest was available to all citizens and objected to the proposed involvement of police in educational institutions to discourage students from joining demonstrations.

He questioned why the government had sought an explanation only from a Joint Director who forwarded the communication to colleges, while no action had reportedly been initiated against those who framed the original decision.

Referring to the Higher Education Minister’s apology in the Assembly, Shanmugam said the CPM had sought accountability, not an apology.

Shanmugam raised a separate allegation against the Gujiliamparai tahsildar in Dindigul district, who had reportedly instructed village administrative officers to collect details of CPM and CPI members in the taluk.

He described the move as intimidation and a misuse of official authority. While the district administration initially indicated that the tahsildar would be transferred after completing training, an explanation was later sought under Rule 17A of the Tamil Nadu Government Servants’ Conduct Rules.

Shanmugam argued that this treated a serious abuse of power as a minor disciplinary lapse. He rejected Law Minister R Nirmalkumar’s claim that the tahsildar had acted on personal preferences, saying such misuse of office warranted stringent action.

–IANS

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