Anti CAA, NRC Mass Campaign in Tamil Nadu
THE Tamil Nadu CPIML launched an intensive Mass Contact Campaign in December 2019. All the district party organizations undertook various types of initiatives to contact the people on their basic demands. Through village meetings, leafleting, street corner meetings, people’s basic livelihood demands been highlighted. People’ at various places also submitted petitions to the authorities on their basic demands of housing, MGNREA employment, loan waiver, pension etc. This campaign was also supported by AIARLA and AICCTU. People’s Right Rallies and conferences were organised in many districts during this campaign.
Meanwhile, in the back drop of enactment of CAA, protests against CAA, NRC, NPR were held in the course of this campaign. On December 12, a protest program was held in Vridhachalam of Cuddalore district. The protest led by Dhanavel, district Sec of CPIML, and AIARLA state secretary Rajasankar. On 15 in Kooduvanchery of Chengalpattu district a procession and mass meeting was held. N K Natarajan, CPIML state secretary, and Kavita Krishnan, Politburo member, addressed the meeting. Com Kavita presented the Panchami land retrieval struggle Martyrs’ torch to John Thomas, Elumalai was presented to RYA comrades. Com Eraniappan presided over the meeting. Varadharajan and Tirunavukkarsu also participated in the program. On the same day a people’s right convention was held in Coimbatore in which a considerable number of slum dwellers, municipal scavenging workers and students participated. The convention was addressed by Politburo member V Shankar, Balasubramanian, Damodharan and Velmurugan.
On 16th a protest program was held in front of district Collectorate, Nagercoil of Kanyakumari. SM Anthonimuthu, Suseela, Editor of Maley Theepori G. Ramesh and Kavita Krishnan addressed the programme. On 17th Dec a mass meeting was held in Tirunelveli town which was attended by a large number of women beedi workers. This was addressed by Sankarapandian, G. Ramesh and Kavita Krishnan.
On 19 Dec Left parties’ held protest programmes in several districts. Continuing the mass contact program on 23 Dec hundreds of power loom workers, mainly women assembled in protest in Kumarapalayam of Namakkal district. NK Natarajan and Kathiravan addressed the gathering. On 24 Dec at Salem collectorate a mass dharna was held which was led by A. Chandramohan, Velmurugan, Mohanasundaram and State Secretary N K Natarajan. On the same day, in Ulundurpet, a municipal town of Vizhupuram-Kallakurichi sit-in protest was held in front of Taluk office. Nearly 500 people attended this protest.
