Activists accuse Centre of turning Tamil Nadu into a lab for fascism

Kavita along with several activists from all over the country including Prashant Bushan, Priya Pillai, Wilfred D’Souza, SP Udayakumar, Henry Thiphagne, TVK leader Velmurugan and Director Gowthaman participated in the one day meet titled ‘Targeted Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu Civil Society Must Intervene,’ organised by The Movement for Democracy and Dignity, in Chennai.

In the press meet, Priya Pillai said that the state is towing the lines of the Centre in repression and the situation is even worse as the state is booking activists for distribution of pamphlets.

She also appreciated the people of Tamil Nadu by calling them ‘brave’ for their continuous agitation against the socalled forced developmental projects.

Kavita said that people are facing repression from the state for opposing Chennai-Salem road project and for protesting against companies like Vedanta.

“Though repression was there even during the days of former CM J Jayalalithaa, there was democracy to some extent, but now there is complete erosion of democracy in the state,” she said. She also said that the repression in Tamil Nadu is an indication of what will happen in other states. The Union government had turned the state into a puppet and a laboratory of fascism, she added. “We are going to build a network of support and solidarity for people of Tamil Nadu in New Delhi,” said Kavita.

Prashant Bhushan said, “There is undeclared emergency in the state where freedom of speech is suppressed, media are muscled and elections are postponed.

Lawyers are arrested for defending social activists and people are threatened for participating in protests.” Conducting elections alone does not mean that democracy is prevailing in the state but the components of democracy like freedom of speech and movement should be present. All the anti-corruption institutions were weakened and institutions like the CBI have become cage parrots of the Centre, added Bhushan.

When asked about the future as people in the state do not have any option other than DMK and AIADMK, Kavita replied that the movement of the people had shown the way for new politics and the corporate raj along with fascism will be overthrown by it. When asked about the support of Rajinikanth for projects like the Chennai-Salem Expressway Bhushan said that it is not sure whether Rajini does really understand the problems of the people and added that he lives in a different universe.