TN This Week: Left Parties Outraged at Guv Ravi's Remarks on Karl Marx

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government in Tamil Nadu moved the Supreme Court against the Madras High Court order allowing the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to carry out route marches in various parts of the state.

Heeding the state government's request, the Union government on February 23 announced a relaxation in moisture content, maturity requirement, and damage limit norms for paddy procurement at direct procurement centres.

Chief Minister MK Stalin on February 23 urged the Union External Affairs Ministry to urge Sri Lanka through diplomatic channels to stop attacks on Indian fishermen.

Stalin condemned the attack on Tamil students by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the vandalism of Periyar and Karl Marx portraits at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi.

A 25-year-old spectator was gored to death during the Manjuvirattu celebration in Ponamaravathy, Pudukkottai, on February 19.

NewsClick brings you a round-up of happenings of this week in Tamil Nadu.

LEFT CONDEMNS GUV’S WORDS ON MARX

Left parties condemned Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi’s remarks that Karl Marx was against India and that his ideas hindered the country's growth.

CPI(M) held black flag protests against Ravi wherever he visited demanding an apology “for abusing power and speaking inappropriately and slandering Marxism,” said CPI(M) state secretary K Balakrishnan. 

About 30 cadres of the CPI(M), who attempted to stage a black flag protest against the Governor, were detained in Chidambaram on February 23.

“RSS borrowed the philosophy of "one flag, one leader, one country” and shakha from fascist Mussolini and flag salute and Swastika from Hitler,” said CPI state secretary R Mutharasan, hitting back. Whereas, “Karl Marx was accepted as the greatest among scholars born in the millennium,” he added.

The left parties have decided to hold demonstrations across the state on February 28 against the Governor’s conscious controversial remarks.

Higher Education Minister K Ponmudy on February 22 criticised the Governor’s remarks, saying Ravi should immediately stop acting like a politician and discharge his duties assigned for the gubernatorial post.

BJP PROTESTS AFTER SOLDIER'S DEATH

The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP sat on a hunger strike on February 21 to condemn the killing of an Indian Army soldier by a DMK councillor and his aides. A case was filed against 3,500 BJP leaders and cadres for conducting a candlelight march in connection with the death.

The Chennai police registered a case against BJP National Executive Committee member and ex-serviceman Colonel BB Pandian for his controversial statement warning the state government that they were well-trained in using bombs and guns and the government shouldn’t force them to do so.

Prabhu, a 28-year-old soldier of the Indian Army, was beaten to death by a DMK councillor and his aides following a dispute over washing clothes near a water tank in Tamil Nadu's Krishnagiri.

EPS GETS LEEWAY WITHIN AIADMK

The Supreme Court on February 23 affirmed a Madras High Court Division Bench decision upholding the conduct of a Special General Council meeting of the AIADMK on July 11, 2022. The meeting appointed former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami as interim general secretary and expelled rival O Panneerselvam from the primary membership of the party. Read more

The news comes amidst the Erode (East) bypoll elections scheduled for February 27. The constituency witnessed heated campaigning this week with the ruling party and opposition lashing out at one another and showcasing their achievements. Read more

PROTESTS AND MOVEMENTS

The contract workers of the Neyveli Tamil Nadu Power Limited (NTPL) withdrew the eight-day-long agitation after arriving at an agreement with the NTPL management. Over 1,000 workers who participated in the protest returned to their jobs on February 21. Read more

In a protest against the new pension scheme on February 21, Indian Coach Factory workers raised concern about bringing private players in the name of ‘technology partner mode’ for the production of Vande Bharat 2. Read more

Tamil Nadu Cable TV Operators Public Welfare Association on February 24 staged a protest in Chengelpet condemning the central government’s recent TV series regulation order.

The protests in Ekanapuram against the proposed second airport for Chennai crossed the 213th day on February 24. Read more

One of the 16 missing persons from the Anbu Jothi home, Tamil Nadu Congress’s State general council member G. Krishnamurthy’s brother, reportedly died in Tirupathur last November. Read more