Title - Protest against ‘step-motherly treatment’ of State government

Labour wing of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) staged a protest as part of the State-wide agitation against the ‘step-motherly treatment’ to the State in several issues including the Cauvery River water dispute, in Krishnagiri on Thursday.The agitation was called by the party’s General Secretary and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa last week.

Cadre:Over four thousand cadre took part in the agitation that had been organised on the occasion, including about seven hundred women and members of Anna Thozhirchanga Peravai from TNSTC, Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri, in front of the BSNL office in Londonpet area in Krishnagiri town.The leaders who spoke at the agitation that had been organised, said that the Union government had failed to cooperate with the AIADMK government in several issues that were affecting the general public, due to ‘DMK pressure’.The leaders and cadre raised slogans against UPA Government, of which the DMK is a part, on the Cauvery issue, demanding immediate gazette notification of the Cauvery Tribunal’s final award.Other demands were for rollback of the recent increase in railway fare, and allocation of entire power produced by Central Government undertakings to Tamil Nadu in order to tide over the grim situation the State had been facing for the last one-and-a-half years.

The agitation was organised to protest against the increase in diesel price and railway fare and over ‘denial’ of the State’s rights.

The protest was presided over by M.P. Ilansuryan, State Convenor, Tamilnadu Unorganised Workers Sangam.

Among those who participated were District Secretaries of Anna Thozhirchanga Paravai K. Madheva (Krishnagiri) and M. Palanisamy (Dharmapuri); Regional Secretary of Peravai N. Paramasivam; M.L.A.s, K.P. Anbazhagan (Palacode), K.E. Krishnamoorthy (Bargur) and N. Manoranjitham Nagarajan (Uthangarai); and District Panchayat Chairmen K. Ashok Kumar (Krishnagiri), and T.R. Anbazhagan (Dharmapuri).

Allegation

Ms. Jayalalithaa had last week alleged that “Congress-led UPA Government was bent upon stifling the rights of States and dealing a blow to the Federal character enshrined in the Constitution and rejecting the just demands of non Congress-ruled States.”

She had accused the Centre of maintaining silence on the issue of notifying the Cauvery tribunal’s final award because of political reasons.

The DMK, which was a key ally of UPA, had remained a mute spectator for ‘selfish’ motives.