"...Not democracy but tyranny": TVK chief Vijay slams Tamil Nadu's DMK Govt over sanitation workers' arrest

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 14 (ANI): Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay on Thursday slammed the Chief Minister MK Stalin-led DMK government in Tamil Nadu for what he described as "inhumane and anarchic" arrest of protesting sanitation workers in Chennai.
"Condemn the fascist DMK government for arresting sanitation workers, who have been peacefully fighting for their rights, in an inhumane and anarchic manner in the dead of night!" Vijay said in a post on X.
Chennai police on Wednesday night detained sanitation workers who had been protesting for 13 consecutive days outside the Greater Chennai Corporation's Ripon Building, following a Madras High Court order to clear the protest site.
Vijay said that reports had emerged that women sanitation workers fainted during the arrests, where they were dragged away brutally, and they had also sustained severe injuries.
"Witnessing this midnight arrest operation, it is evident that violence has been unleashed on women to an extent that no one with a conscience can bear. Immediate medical assistance and treatment must be provided to the injured, and necessary measures should be taken promptly to safeguard their health," he said.
"The arrested sanitation workers have been detained in various locations, unable to contact their families or access any form of assistance. To detain them in a way that prevents even communication with their families--are sanitation workers anti-national elements? Does the ruling government have even a shred of conscience? Looking at this cruel action, it becomes crystal clear that what is happening in Tamil Nadu is not democracy but tyranny," the TVK leader said.
Vijay said that the sanitation workers were protesting to demand the fulfilment of promises made by the DMK when it was in the opposition.
"Why have you still not fulfilled those promises? If you are unable to fulfil the promises you made, why do you make such promises in the first place? The sanitation workers arrested in an anarchic manner must be released immediately. An alternative space must be provided for them to continue their protest and raise their demands," asked Vijay.
Around 800 sanitation workers, opposing the civic body's move to privatise waste management in two zones, were forcibly removed around midnight and taken away in buses within 45 minutes.
For the 13th consecutive day, hundreds of sanitation workers employed under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM) protested in front of Ripon Building, demanding a rollback of the GCC's decision to privatise solid waste management services in Zones 5 and 6.
The workers claimed that the move threatened their job security, livelihoods, and exposed them to exploitation by private agencies.
Earlier, the GCC had announced plans to outsource waste management in Royapuram (Zone 5) and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar (Zone 6) from August 1. These were among the last remaining zones under direct GCC control, with 10 out of Chennai's 15 zones already managed by private contractors such as Spain-based Urbaser-Sumeet and Andhra Pradesh-based Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd (REEL).
The workers condemned the outsourcing, demanded permanent employment, and insisted that sanitation work continue under the NULM scheme. (ANI)