TN this Week: State Opposes Amendment to Electricity Act, Agitations Against Fuel Price

The Chief of the Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and 12 others were killed in a tragic accident when the Indian Air Force helicopter carrying them crashed into the heavily wooded area of the Coonoor ghat in Nilgiris district on December 8. As a mark of respect, all shops and businesses in the district were closed down on December 10.

The Tamil Nadu government has been opposing several moves of the Central government. On December 8, the state government voiced concern against the proposed amendments to the Electricity Act, 2003 and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention. Chief Minister MK Stalin said the amendments would have far-reaching implications and argued certain provisions would allow "unbridled access" to the private players in select areas.

The government has announced a slew of measures to give a push to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector in Tamil Nadu that are recovering from the impact of the pandemic. The government on December 7 slashed prices of plots inside the Small Industries Development Corporation Limited (SIDCO) industrial estates to support MSMEs.

The much-awaited announcement of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission (TNPSC) exams are out. The Commission said it will hold 32 recruitment exams in 2022 to fill more than 10,000 vacancies in various government departments.

The Income Tax department conducted raids on 37 locations of the popular chain of stores Super Saravana Stores firm on December 1. It said that the firm underreported sales worth more than 1,000 crores in order to evade tax. NewsClick brings you a roundup of the happenings this week.

COVID-19: FAKE VACCINATION CLAIMS

Claims of several fake entries crept into COVID-19 vaccination data in Tamil Nadu this week. However, state health minister Ma Subramanian denied the claim on December 7 and said that it was common for one or two "technical errors" to creep in.

A cluster of about 10 cases has been detected on Anna University's Alagappa College of Technology campus in Chennai. Given the rise in COVID-19 clusters in educational institutions, the government has made it mandatory for students to be fully vaccinated before attending offline classes.

As per this week, the first dose vaccination coverage against the COVID-19 virus has reached 81.18%, and the second dose coverage stands at 48.72%. Although the mega vaccination camps have reached a wide section of people, officials reiterated the need to accelerate the process.

There was a dip in fresh COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu this week; 688 persons tested positive for the infection, and 11 deaths were recorded on December 10.

10 MIN PROTEST AGAINST FUEL PRICE

As part of CITU's all India call to stage protests condemning the fuel price hike by stopping vehicles for 10 minutes between noon and 12.10 pm on December 10, vehicles were stopped in several places across the state.

Image courtesy: AK Padmanaban

Members of CITU and fraternal organisations gathered with flags and pamphlets at signals and agitated against the exorbitant rise in fuel price. While at some places the police cooperated, at others there were heated arguments.

AMBULANCE WORKERS PROTEST

Image courtesy: TN Labour

Members of the 108 Ambulance Workers Union staged a protest in front of the Directorate of Medical and Rural Health Services (DMS) in Chennai on December 8, urging the state government to give up efforts at completely privatising the service. At present, the service is based on public-private partnerships.

In the past, they have raised concerns regarding job insecurity and lack of proper working conditions due to the contract nature of the job.

TAMIL STATE INVOCATION SONG ROW

A few weeks after the IIT management chose to avoid the official Tamil state invocation song Tamil Thai Vazhthu at its 58th convocation, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP from south Chennai Thamizhachi Thangapandian, in whose constituency the IIT falls, asked the Union government on December 7 to ensure the song is sung at the IIT as per protocol.

Three days later, on December 10, while hearing a case on the Pontiff of the Kanchi Kamakoti Temple who was reportedly seated when the song was played in 2018, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court observed that ‘Tamil Thai Vazhthu’ is a prayer song and not an anthem, thereby it is not mandatory for attendees to stand up for it.

On the same day, the state government issued an order mandating the singing of Tamil Thai Vazhthu and National Anthem in all government functions and not merely to be played from any recording devices.

POCSO ACCUSED OUT ON BAIL

Less than a week after ordering judicial custody, Dindigul Mahila Court granted bail to the private nursing college correspondent P Jothimurugan, who was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, following students’ complaints.

All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has strongly condemned such a lenient attitude towards a POCSO accused and has demanded a CB-CID probe into the case.

Amid shocking cases of sexual harassment and deaths by suicides reported in Tamil Nadu, data released by the National Crime Records Bureau showed that only one in four POCSO cases were convicted in 2019.

The State government, on December 9, issued a government order allotting additional Rs 5 crore towards the Tamil Nadu Child Victim Compensation Fund set up under the POCSO Act. The fund was set up in 2020 with a corpus fund of Rs 2 crore. So far, the State government has announced compensations for 225 survivors.

PROBE LIKELY CUSTODIAL DEATH

A 22-year-old college student, Manikandan, who was taken under police custody, died after returning home on December 5 in Mudukulathur of Ramnad district. The deceased youth’s family refused to receive his body, claiming that he had been subjected to custodial torture.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) state secretary K Balakrishnan has sought a judicial probe into the death of Manikandan.

CASTE TENSIONS ON AMBEDKAR MEMORIAL DAY

Members of the Thevar community pelted stones on Dalit outfit Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) cadres in Mayiladuthurai on the occasion of his 65th death anniversary on December 6. The cadres were garlanding a picture of Dr B R Ambedkar near a public bus stop.