CHENNAI: CPM on Wednesday condemned the alleged police violence against persons with disabilities during protests in the city, terming it a human rights violation.
In a resolution adopted at the party's two-day State Committee meeting held in Namakkal on February 17 and 18, CPM said that the TARATDAC launched an indefinite statewide protest on February 10. Over 32,000 protesters were detained across the State and released by February 12.
Ahead of the Assembly session for the interim Budget on February 17, a protest planned near the Chepauk Guest House was shifted to Sivananda Salai at the request of the police. More than 2,700 protesters were detained, and allegedly, no basic facilities were provided. The resolution alleged that buses carrying the protesters were later diverted across the city and suburbs, taken to the Kilambakkam bus terminus past midnight, and finally dropped at the Koyambedu bus terminus around 2 am.
The CPM alleged that the association's State general secretary, B Jansirani, was injured during a forcible attempt to board her onto a bus and was later admitted to Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital.
Condemning the alleged denial of food and drinking water and use of force, the party demanded strict action against those responsible and urged the government to raise disability pensions and hold immediate talks with the association's leaders.