Chennai, March 7 – The AIADMK announced a protest against the DMK government on Saturday, accusing it of neglecting the demands of workers employed in Tamil Nadu's state-run transport corporations.
AIADMK General Secretary and former Chief Minister, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, said on Saturday that the party's transport workers' wing, Anna Thozhirsanga Peravai, will organize a protest in Chennai on March 13.
According to the announcement, the protest will be held in front of Pallavan Illam, the headquarters of the state's Metropolitan Transport Corporation.
The protest will be led by senior AIADMK leader and former Minister, D. Jayakumar.
In a statement, Palaniswami alleged that the DMK government had failed to address several long-standing demands raised by transport corporation workers in Tamil Nadu.
Among the key demands are the implementation of the wage revision agreement and the provision of leave benefits for employees in the state.
The AIADMK General Secretary said that the transport corporation workers had been repeatedly seeking these benefits, but the DMK-led state government had not taken adequate steps to resolve their grievances.
Palaniswami accused the DMK of ignoring the concerns of thousands of transport workers, who play a vital role in maintaining public transport services across the state.
The AIADMK leader also recalled that during the administrations led by former Chief Ministers M.G. Ramachandran and J. Jayalalithaa, as well as during his own tenure as the Chief Minister, the demands of transport workers and other sections of the working class were given due consideration.
According to Palaniswami, several welfare measures and benefits were implemented during those periods to support government employees and laborers.
He also alleged that the DMK had made numerous promises to workers and government employees during the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly election, despite being aware that many of those commitments would be difficult to fulfill.
He claimed that after coming to power in the state following the state polls, the DMK government had failed to honor many of its assurances, leaving transport corporation workers dissatisfied.
The planned protest, Palaniswami said, is intended to highlight these issues and press the state government to take immediate steps to address the workers' demands.
AIADMK leaders said the protest is expected to draw participation from transport workers and party functionaries from different parts of the state.
They added that the protest will aim to exert pressure on the DMK government to resolve the grievances of transport corporation employees at the earliest.