Tamil Nadu BJP chief slams DMK govt over action against protesting nurses

Chennai, Dec 20 Tamil Nadu BJP President Nainar Nagenthran has launched a scathing attack on the DMK government, accusing it of demonstrating “zero compassion” towards the working class, particularly nurses who have been staging protests demanding equal pay for equal work and permanent employment.

In a strongly worded statement, Nagenthran condemned the government’s alleged forceful removal of protesting nurses and their confinement in a hall near the Kelambakkam bus stand. According to him, the nurses — many of whom are women — were locked up without proper basic amenities, food, or water, an act he described as “inhumane and authoritarian.”

He said that instead of engaging with nurses who care for patients “with humanity and motherly affection,” the DMK government behaved as though the protestors were criminals.

Nagenthran questioned whether such tactics reflected the “Dravidian model” the ruling party proudly speaks of. He further criticised the government’s slogan of “Empowered Tamil Women”, calling it hollow when hundreds of nurses were allegedly detained without essentials.

The BJP leader also accused the DMK of reneging on its election-time promises relating to employment reforms, equal wages, and job security. He claimed that when questioned about unfulfilled promises, the government resorts to suppressing dissent rather than addressing genuine grievances.

Referring to reports from association representatives, Nagenthran stated that Health Minister Ma Subramanian allegedly spoke in a “threatening tone” to nurse leaders during discussions, which he described as an example of arrogance and intolerance within the ruling dispensation. He said the minister’s failure to show empathy towards frontline workers — especially those who served during crises — was “shocking and contradictory to the government’s proclaimed values.”

Nagenthran asserted that the DMK’s governance has turned hostile towards labour and described its election commitments as deceptive. He warned that a government which wins votes on promises and later silences the very people who trusted it cannot expect to return to power. He reiterated that protests carried out on moral grounds for rightful demands should not be met with coercion, calling the alleged actions an indication of a “fascist mindset.”

Nagenthran concluded by stating that the DMK government has failed in both compassion and accountability, and that the people of Tamil Nadu will not forget these incidents when they next go to the polls.

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