Edappadi K Palaniswami, TTV Dhinakaran condemn police action against protesting nurses

CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran on Tuesday condemned the arrest of nurses who were protesting in Chennai demanding job security and other employment-related benefits.

Palaniswami, in a social media post, described the police action against the protesting nurses as “cruel” and questioned the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government over the arrests.

He questioned how Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, who had spoken against “fascism” before coming to power, could allow such action against nurses protesting for their demands.

Recalling the assurances given by TVK leaders before the Assembly elections, Palaniswami said the party had promised nurses that they would be made permanent if the TVK came to power.

He also criticised Health Minister Arunraj for not intervening in the issue. Palaniswami questioned why the minister had not held talks with the protesting nurses and attempted to find a solution to their demands.

Alleging that the government had handled the protest in an undemocratic manner, he said electricity at the protest venue was cut and the nurses were subsequently called for talks before being arrested.

Palaniswami demanded the immediate release of the arrested nurses and urged the government not to register cases against them. He also called for talks with the nurses to resolve their demands.

Dhinakaran also condemned the arrests, stating that the TVK government should address the grievances of nurses fighting for their rights instead of using the police against them.

He alleged that calling representatives of the nurses for talks and subsequently arresting them amounted to a betrayal by the government.

Dhinakaran urged the government to hold talks with the nurses and address their demands, including job security and equal pay for equal work.