A major controversy broke out in Tamil Nadu after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government arrested 22 farmers who were opposing the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd (SIPCOT) Industrial estate project in the Cheyyar taluk of Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvannamalai district. Seven of the farmers were booked under the Goondas Act on 15 November. The district government of Thiruvannamalai published an official statement about the Goondas Act and its reported interference with equality and public order.
According to the project, the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Ltd. would purchase their land. Over a hundred days have passed since the farmers began their protests. On 4 November, the farmers were taken into custody by the police and multiple First Information Reports were lodged in August against those who participated in the demonstration which commenced in July.
According to the formal complaint, they were charged under Sections 147 (rioting), 341 (wrongful restraining), 294 (b) (obscene acts and songs), 506 (1) (criminal intimidation), 283 (danger or obstruction in a public way or line of navigation), 290 (public nuisance), 109 (punishment for abetment), 143 (unlawful assembly), and 353 (assault or use of criminal force obstructing a public servant from discharging duty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3 of Tamil Nadu Public Property Act, 1992.
The state administration filed a plea stating that they intended to book seven farmers who participated in the demonstration under the Goondas Act when the bail hearing for the arrested farmers came up. The district collector then issued a detention order against the seven farmers under the aforementioned law.
Opposition lashes out at DMK
Bharatiya Janata Party’s state president chief K Annamalai slammed the ruling party and declared that the party would stage a demonstration on November 18 in Tiruvannamalai against the state administration for keeping the seven farmers in custody.
He wrote, “While we think the DMK Govt can’t stoop any lower than its current state, they have proved us wrong by detaining farmers under the Goondas Act. Farmers in Tiruvannamalai district in TN have been protesting peacefully for the last 125 days against the government’s decision to acquire 3200 acres of agricultural land for the proposed SIPCOT.”
The BJP leader added, “We condemn this cowardly act of the DMK govt and BJP Tamil Nadu assures full legal support for the families of the detainees to ensure that the protesting farmers are protected from this fascist DMK regime.”
While we think the DMK Govt can't stoop any lower than its current state, they have proved us wrong by detaining farmers under the Goondas Act.
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) November 16, 2023
Farmers in Tiruvannamalai district in TN have been protesting peacefully for the last 125 days against the government’s decision to… pic.twitter.com/MktYKVO5uF
He posted a video of the families of the arrested farmers narrating their heartbreaking ordeal and remarked, “It is becoming increasingly evident from the family of the arrested farmers that the DMK govt has wilfully meted out this atrocity of imposing the Goondas act on the hard-working farmers of our State for protesting against the government’s decision to acquire their agricultural lands.”
It is becoming increasingly evident from the family of the arrested farmers that the DMK govt has wilfully meted out this atrocity of imposing the Goondas act on the hard-working farmers of our State for protesting against the government’s decision to acquire their agricultural… pic.twitter.com/1QATJITDQp
— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) November 17, 2023
In the video, the female family members of the farmers revealed, “The protest started on July 2 in Cheyyar. On the 70th day, we went to give a petition to Cheyyar. The police arrested all the men on the way. On the 125th day, police removed the protest tents as well. They also arrested other men at 2 am in the morning. They arrested 22 men altogether. We thought they would release them within 15 days but in vain. Seven of them have been booked under the Goondas Act. They brought us a form. It had no information on farm protests. It mentioned about illicit liquor, sand smuggling, rape, sexual harassment and theft.”
They further added, “They got the spouse signed naming them as witnesses. They warned us of sealing our shops and arresting us with our children if we did not oblige to sign. Farmers are protesting for our lands. We are not behind the government’s property. We are fighting for our own property. If it was the government’s property they could take action.”
They asked, “Why are they doing this when we are fighting to protect our own property? These are lands which yield crops throughout the year. They are meting out such atrocities against us. How can they book them under the Goondas Act? They should withdraw this Goondas Act. Else all of us will end our lives. Let them build their companies on our lands after we die. Let them build SIPCOT after we die. Let them bury us there and then build SIPCOT over our bodies.”
Furthermore, Edappadi K Palaniswami (EPS) leader of the opposition in the state legislative assembly threatened to stage protests if the DMK government did not drop the cases brought against the farmers. He charged that the DMK government was employing police force to quell protests by officials and farmers and was seeking retribution against the opposition.
Fourteen activists, including G Sundarajan from Poovulagin Nanbargal, Jayaram Venkatesan from Arappor Iyakkam and Aruna Roy from Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan have called the farmers’ arrests “undemocratic and unconstitutional” and asked Chief Minister MK Stalin to immediately drop the cases against them.
What is the SIPCOT Project
State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited (SIPCOT) was formed in March 1971 to promote industrial development in the State by providing financial assistance, incentives and other ancillary services to the medium scale industries besides developing industrial complexes in the State.
It acts as a Nodal Agency of the Government of Tamil Nadu in the sanction/disbursement of Structured Package of Assistance to large industrial units. Farmers have reportedly been resisting the SIPCOT project since it calls for the purchase of more than 3,000 acres of agricultural wetlands for the proposed phase-3 project of the SIPCOT industrial park near Cheyyar.
The names of the farmers booked under the Goondas Act are M Thirumal (30), K Pachaiyappan (47), M Devan (45), B Bakkiyaraj (38), C Masilamani (45), N Sozhan (30) and A Arul (45) of various villages around Cheyyar. Over four months have passed since July when the farmers began their protests against the potential seizure of their agricultural wetlands. Farmers on a patta land have been calling on the government to abandon the project by holding a sit-in protest and holding signs. The demonstrators fear that it is going to harm the environment and their means of subsistence.
