EPS Tears Into MK Stalin Govt For Crushing Poor Chennai Sanitation Workers To End 13-day Strike, Calls Out Hypocrisy

AIADMK General Secretary and Leader of Opposition Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the DMK government over the brutal late-night police action that ended the 13-day strike by sanitation workers in the city. Calling it ‘midnight oppression’ against ‘poor, simple people’ who kept Chennai clean even during the COVID-19 pandemic, EPS accused Chief Minister MK Stalin of breaking his own promises.

In a strongly worded post on X, EPS accused CM Stalin of unleashing police forces to ‘attack and crush’ the sanitation workers. 

“Who are they? Anti-social elements? Thugs? Naxalites? Not at all. They are poor, simple people! Those who worked daily to keep Chennai city clean,” EPS wrote on X.

Recalling that Stalin himself had once demanded permanent jobs for the sanitation workers as Opposition leader, the AIADMK leader wrote, “Is it a crime that these sanitation workers protested peacefully, condemning your failure to fulfill the promises you made and acting contrary to them?”

EPS Exposes MK Stalin's Hypocrisy

He also accused the government of hypocrisy, saying, “You posed for photoshoots with them, sipping tea and coffee... Did it feel sweet then? But now, when they demand the promises you made, does it taste bitter?”

Detailing what happened last night, EPS stated that the protesting workers were forcibly removed from the Ripon Building protest site, detained in more than eight locations, and some even got injured in the operation. Warning the government, he wrote – 

“The tears, pain, and anguish of the sanitation workers have left Tamil Nadu shaken. You will have to answer for every tear they have shed. The time to answer is not far off. Just eight more months.”

The Demands Of AIADMK

1.    Immediate and unconditional release of all sanitation workers arrested and detained.
2.    Full medical care and compensation for those injured in the police crackdown.
3.    Public assurance that such midnight arrests and repressive tactics will never recur.
4.    Implementation of DMK’s own manifesto promises - permanent jobs, equal pay, and humane working conditions for sanitation workers.
 

Also Read: AIADMK Palaniswami‘s Heartwarming Interaction With Roadside Vendors Wins Hearts | WATCH

Why Were Sanitation Workers Protesting?

The protest began on July 31 after the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) decided to privatise the waste management in Royapuram (Zone 5) and Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar (Zone 6) - the last zones under the direct control of GCC. Around 800 sanitation workers employed under the National Urban Livelihoods Mission (NULM), many of them from the Dalit community, demanded permanent government jobs and rejected employment under private contractors, even with PF and medical benefits.

Ten of Chennai’s 15 zones are already managed by private companies, including Spain-based Urbaser-Sumeet and Andhra Pradesh-based Ramky Enviro Engineers Ltd (REEL). Protesting workers claimed that privatisation would destroy their job security. 

The protest led by the sanitation workers reportedly had the support from trade unions, including the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), AITUC, Left Trade Union Congress (LTUC), and Labour Progressive Union (LPU), as well as parties such as CPI, CPI(M), DMDK, TVK, PMK, and TNBSP.

What Led to the Crackdown on Protesting Sanitation Workers?

As the protests were underway, talks between the striking workers and Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru, HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu, and Mayor R Priya failed to resolve the issue.
On Wednesday, the Madras High Court ordered the state government to clear the protest site. Around midnight, police detained more than 2,000 protesters, loading them into buses and clearing the sites within 45 minutes.