CHENNAI: CPM State Secretary P Shanmugam on Wednesday alleged that the Tamil Nadu Police had acted on the same lines as the Delhi Police by suppressing student protests against NEET, accusing the Tamil Nadu government of curbing democratic rights.
Referring to the ongoing protests in New Delhi, Shanmugam, in a statement, alleged that students attempting to hold a peaceful march following the arrest of Sonam Wangchuk were subjected to a brutal baton charge by the police, leaving more than 100 people injured. He also alleged that women students were treated in a degrading manner by police personnel and paramilitary forces.
Drawing a parallel with the situation in Tamil Nadu, Shanmugam alleged that SFI and DYFI activists had been prevented from staging sit-in protests in Chennai over the past three days and had been repeatedly detained and released by the Tamil Nadu Police.
He further alleged that police entered educational institutions and detained students participating in SFI-led class boycott protests in Chennai, including Tiruvottiyur, R.K. Nagar and Perambur, as well as in Coimbatore, Madurai, Cuddalore and Thanjavur. Describing the action as an unprecedented violation, he said the police had no justification for entering college campuses to arrest students.
The CPM urged the Tamil Nadu government to immediately stop what it termed illegal police excesses and ensure that peaceful protests were allowed at designated venues. The party said suppressing anti-NEET protests, while the TVK government continued to demand the abolition of the examination, would effectively aid the BJP's education policy.