SC settled matter, HC can’t direct lighting Deepam on survey stone: CPM

TIRUPUR: CPM central control commission chairperson Ramakrishnan on Monday questioned the manner in which a single judge of the Madras High Court ordered the lighting of Karthigai Deepam on a boundary stone atop Tirupparankundram hill, stating that previous Supreme Court Division Bench orders had already dismissed the demand and could not be overridden.

Speaking at the party’s district office in Tirupur, he said the Supreme Court Division Bench dismissed cases in 2014 and 2017, which rejected the plea to permit lighting a lamp on the borderstone. “A single judge cannot set aside an apex court Division Bench order. Any challenge must go before a larger Bench or the Supreme Court,” he said, adding that the top court has seized of the matter. Lighting a lamp on the boundary stone, he said, “is not a spiritual issue but a political one,” he said, hitting out at the BJP and other right-wing forces over the issue.

Ramakrishnan said the party would continue to focus on issues affecting the public, including price rise, workers’ rights, farmers’ concerns, and solid waste management problems affecting Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai and Tirupur. He urged the State to adopt improved waste management methods.

Turning to the Centre’s labour reforms, he said the four labour codes, created by compressing 29 laws, would “push workers towards bonded labour-like conditions”. He said fixed-term employment provisions, restrictions on trade union registration, and the weakening of welfare boards and labour courts would adversely affect workers. He also noted that the codes do not include provisions relating to workplace sexual harassment against women.

Ramakrishnan said the rules on strikes had become more restrictive. A 14-day notice was enough for a strike earlier. Now, a prior notice has to be issued 60 days before conducting a strike. Violations could result in arrest, imprisonment, and fines for workers and union leaders, he said.

States not governed by the BJP, including Tamil Nadu and Kerala, are opposing the codes, he said. Protests would continue to intensify against the labour codes, he added.