Chennai: The early morning swoop down on the protesting school teachers by the police drew flak from various political parties with the Leader of the Opposition, Edappadi K Palaniswami, condemning the government for forcefully taking away the teachers along with their children and families and locking them up without providing basic amenities.
According to sources, the police action itself was prompted by the growing support from different political parties like the BJP to the agitation by four sets of teachers, including those who had cleared the TET examination but not yet employed, which intensified on Wednesday night.
When the government offer to increase the salary of part-time teachers was rejected by the protestors, who continued to remain inside the DPI campus, the authorities locked up the toilets in the premises and also cut off water connections with a view to evicting them from there.
It was then, some leaders of the State BJP who called on the protestors at night had reportedly promised to arrange for installing mobile toilets inside the campus and also supply water bottles free of cost when the teachers had complained to them about the locking of toilets and cutting of water supply.
Earlier, Naam Tamilar Katchi chief coordinator Seeman had also called on them and expressed solidarity, while visuals from the protest site went viral, evoking public support to the hunger strike to which many teachers had brought their children and family members.
Sensing the opposition parties trying to make political gain out of the protest and also encouraging the teachers to continue with the agitation, the government cracked down on the strike, which again came handy for the political leaders to hit out at the DMK.
Palaniswami, in his message on X, pointed to the failure of the government in honouring the promises given in the election manifesto, listed under Numbers 311 and 181, that prompted the teachers’ agitation. He also wanted the government to release the arrested persons immediately.
BJP State President K Annamalai accused the government of giving false promises to the teachers and not acceding to their legitimate demands, besides demanding their release. In his X message he alleged that the DMK had promised to regularize the services of 12,000 teachers who had been working on a part time basis since 2012.
For two years, after coming to power, the DMK never bothered to look into the teachers’ plea or its own election promise given under No 181 of the manifesto, he said, adding that it amounted to cheating the people who voted for it.
PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss, who had been speaking in favour of the teachers ever since the agitation started at DPI premises, too spoke against the arrest, calling it an oppressive action.
Outside the realm of politics, the police arrest drew condemnation from social media users, too, who shared poignant visuals of children crying at the site and some women raising slogans against the government and asking ‘is this social justice’ and being forced to enter police vans.
