DMK govt 'betrayed' sanitation workers: TN BJP chief

Chennai, Aug 20 (IANS) Tamil Nadu BJP president Nainar Nagenthiran on Wednesday condemned the DMK government for "betraying" sanitation workers.

In a statement, Nagenthiran said that as per poll promise number 285 in the DMK's manifesto, the government had assured regularisation of services and welfare measures for sanitation workers.

However, over the past several days, sanitation workers in Chennai, Cuddalore, Tirunelveli, Madurai, Tiruppur and other districts have been staging continuous protests demanding fulfilment of these commitments.

He alleged that instead of addressing their concerns, the DMK government has been "mercilessly suppressing the protests" by lathi-charging, forcibly arresting the workers, and even detaining social activists who came forward to support them.

"Is this the model of social justice the DMK keeps boasting about?" he asked.

Nagenthiran further said that the DMK has consistently "misled" the poor and working classes with tall promises during every election, only to deceive them once in power.

"Chief Minister M.K. Stalin should reflect on whether he feels no remorse in betraying those living in poverty after gaining their trust with assurances. Even in the final phase of his government, instead of alleviating the sufferings of sanitation workers, he continues to inflict more hardship on them. This arrogance is truly shameful," he said.

The BJP leader warned that if the government continues to "ignore" the sanitation workers' plight, the agitation could snowball into a major people's uprising against the DMK.

He stressed that the BJP would stand firmly with the sanitation workers who had been "cheated and abandoned" by the DMK.

"Attempts to silence people's anger and frustration through intimidation and police excess will only lead to disastrous consequences for this arrogant regime. The BJP will continue to extend its full support to the sanitation workers’ fight for justice," Nagenthiran asserted.

--IANS

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