CHENNAI: Naam Tamilar Katchi chief coordinator Seeman on Thursday accused Chief Minister MK Stalin of showing greater interest in watching the newly released film 'Coolie' than addressing the ongoing protests of ‘coolie’ (conservancy) workers.

Speaking to reporters after meeting detained sanitation workers at a wedding hall in Velachery here, Seeman said it was the people's responsibility to elect a government that, in his view, neglects their concerns. "It is pointless to criticise the rulers alone. We are the ones who gave them power," he said.

He criticised the State's decision to privatise conservancy services, questioning the rationale for offering Rs 10 lakh insurance cover to sanitation workers employed by private contractors. "Is keeping the city clean the responsibility of the government or private firms? Has any foreign company sought to take up this work?" he asked.

Seeman alleged that the government was targeting politically powerless communities. "After putting pressure on the fishing community, they are now attacking sanitation workers," he said, adding that Chennai's original residents had been pushed to the outskirts and further marginalised.

Condemning the police action against activists Valarmathi and Nilavu Mozhi, he said law graduates fighting for the workers were assaulted, booked in false cases, and jailed. "Is democracy only a means to prevent people from participating in protests?" he asked.

He accused the government of using the law to suppress those demanding justice. Urging voters to respond through the EVMs, Seeman said, "Our strongest weapon is the vote. In the next six months, we must use it against this injustice. Only then will change occur."