Members of the Tamil Nadu Government Co-Operative Department Employees’ Association availed mass casual leave for a day on Friday and observed a day’s fast here, pressing for a charter of demands.
Led by the association State president M. Murugan, a large number of employees, including more than 100 women from various district headquarters, observed the State-level fast, organised as per the decision taken at the executive committee meeting held in Tiruchi recently.
Tamil Nadu Government Employees’ Association State president Subramanian inaugurated the fast and the cooperative department employees’ association State general secretary A. Rathinam explained the demands.
Alleging that the suspension of sub-registrars P. Rajamurthy and P. Soundarapandian in the district was a whimsical action on the part of District Joint Registrar J. Hema Salomi, the employees demanded her transfer and reinstatement of the two sub-registrars.
They said two other sub-registrars K Chinnapaiyan and Kumar, who had detected irregularities at the Nangavalli primary agriculture cooperative society in Salem district, had also been suspended without any valid reason and demanded their reinstatement.
Alleging that Minister for Cooperatives Sellur K Raju, while on his way for campaigning in RK Nagar Assembly constituency, had abused sub-registrar K. Cellaiah after seeing him inspecting fair price shops in the constituency, the agitating employees condemned the incident and demanded an apology from the Minister.
Of late, there has been insecurity and apprehensions in the minds of the employees as innocent employees and sub-registrars were made scapegoats while those who indulged in systematic irregularities in the department were allowed to escape, Mr. Rathinam said. They would go ahead with the second phase of mass casual leave agitation on April 18 if the authorities failed to concede their demands, he added.
