The
Communist
Party
of
India
and
Communist
Party
of
India
(Marxist)
have
issued
the
following
statement:
The
CPI(M)
and
the
CPI
strongly
condemn
the
unprecedented
repression
unleashed
upon
the
government
employees
by
the
Tamilnadu
government
to
suppress
their
strike.
The
AIADMK
government
has
promulgated
an
ordinance
which
amends
the
Tamilnadu
Essential
Services
Maintenance
Act
(ESMA).
Under
this
ordinance,
any
appointing
authority
can
summarily
dismiss
an
employee
who
is
deemed
to
have
participated
in
the
strike.
No
notice
need
be
served
and
mass
dismissal
orders
can
be
issued.
Under
this
draconian
provision,
nearly
1,70,000
employees
have
been
dismissed
so
far.
The
Tamilnadu
ordinance
is
a
grave
attack
on
the
basic
right
of
employees
to
security
in
employment
and
an
attack
on
the
fundamental
rights
of
citizens.
Such
an
authoritarian
and
anti-democratic
law
should
not
go
unchallenged.
The
law
is
a
threat
to
the
entire
trade
union
and
democratic
movement.
The
CPI(M)
and
the
CPI
demand
the
scrapping
of
this
ordinance
forthwith.
It
is
necessary
to
build
up
a
protest
movement
against
this
dangerous
law
not
only
in
Tamilnadu,
but
in
the
entire
country.