Tamil Nadu

“CPI (M) support not a licence to destroy democracy”

Staff Reporter

Protest against irregularities in conduct of coop. polls

ANGRY PROTEST: CPI (M) State secretary N. Varadarajan (fourth from left) leading a demonstration condemning irregularities in the conduct of elections to cooperative societies, in Madurai on Tuesday.

MADURAI: The support extended by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is not a licence for the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam to “destroy democracy,” party State secretary N. Varadarajan said here on Tuesday.

Saying that the support was only issue based, Mr. Varadarajan said the CPI (M) was backing the DMK for its good measures such as opposing online trading, privatisation of power generation and airport expansion work, and supporting 33 per cent reservation for women. “But, it (DMK) should not think that our support is a licence to destroy democracy.” Leading a protest to condemn irregularities in the conduct of elections to cooperative societies, he said the CPI (M) did not have an electoral alliance with the DMK for the polls. The party wanted fair conduct of elections. “But, in more than 90 per cent, the elections were not conducted in a democratic manner.”

Aspirants were not given nomination papers. The papers filed by candidates belonging to opposition parties and trade unions were deliberately rejected, he said. “Even where elections became a necessity, atrocities were witnessed.”

With the support of officials, DMK men think that they could do anything. “Had the ruling party toed the right line, elections could have been conducted in the right manner,” he said and demanded re-poll in all places where irregularities were reported.

P. Mohan MP warned election officials involved in irregularities that they owed an answer to the public. “The ruling partymen and officials were ‘cooperating’ with each other for looting public money,” he alleged. Madurai East MLA N. Nanmaran and CPI (M) urban district secretary R. Jothiram spoke.

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