CPM activists held,released

The police arrested a group of CPI (M) activists when they staged a protest in front of office of Medical Education and District In-Charge Minister S A Ramdas in the city without seeking permission from the Department of Police. Later, they were released.

Tension prevailed in front of Ramdas’ office in Vidyaranyapuram on Monday, as the members of Centre for Indian Trade Union (CITU) and All India Agricultural Workers Unions (AIAWU) staged a demonstration alleging irregularities in the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee scheme (MNREGS).

The police asked the protesters to withdraw their demonstration on the ground that they have not taken permission from the police commissioner.

However, the protesters refused to heed to police request and said they need not take anybody’s permission as they came there to pour in their woes before the minister.

This made the police to take all of them into custody and forcibly dumped them inside the police van. Earlier, in his address, CPM leader and the vice- president of the state unit of All India Agricultural Workers Union GN Nagaraj said that the employment scheme to farm labourers failed to reach out to the unemployed labourers in rural areas.

“There is no proper implementation of the project.

The officials are involved in the embezzlement of funds meant for providing employment to poor agricultural labourers.

Thousands of labourers have not received the wages for the work they done two years ago. Besides, the officials are using machineries for manual work,” he said.

Varalakshmi, general secretary of CITU said there was a serious setback for the MnREGS in the state. The Government has proposed to implement the scheme through private players, she added.

Secretary of AIAWU Puttamadu and others were present. About 60 activists who were held were later released.