A day after social worker Raj Mohan Chandra was hacked to death in Tiruvannamalai, the the CPI(M) State unit on Tuesday demanded early enactment of a whistleblowers’ protection law to ensure the safety of Right to Information Act (RTI) activists, public interest litigants and others fighting for public causes.
The State secretariat meeting of the party also adopted a resolution pressing for separate legislation for preventing honour killings.
Talking to reporters, party State secretary G. Ramakrishnan said those arrested in connection with the murder of Raj Mohan Chandra were also involved in the attack against CPI (M) Tiruvannamalai district secretary Veerabhadran some time ago.
“There is a nexus between the criminals and politicians and if those who attacked Mr. Veerabhadran had been arrested, Raj Mohan Chandra’s murder would not have taken place. We need specific laws to protect these whistleblowers. Otherwise, no one will come to the streets against anti-social elements and defend public interest,” Mr Ramakrishnan said.
The CPI (M) leader said the murder of woman police constable Kanneeswari in Dindigul district was a clear case of “honour killing” since she was a Dalit and in love with Rangaraj, a caste Hindu.
“If a police constable can be murdered for falling in love with a person outside her community, what will happen to others? It could be a case of honour killing and it should be transferred to CB-CID for inquiry,” he said.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said as the Left parties were planning a protest in support of their demand for amendment to the Food Security Bill during the monsoon session of Parliament, the CPI (M) in Tamil Nadu would conduct a survey in 1,500 ration shops and consumers between July 7 and 12 to ensure that ration cardholders received essential commodities as per norms.
