COIMBATORE: Members of People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) urged the state government to implement Justice K Chandru committee’s guidelines to prevent caste and community-based violence among students. It was among the several resolutions passed during the concluding day of the PUCL’s state conference held on Sunday.
Speaking to TNIE, PUCL national general secretary V Suresh censured the government for the rise in instances of police excess and encounters, among the many human rights issues troubling the state. “The state is suppressing free speech and indirectly preventing the right to stage protest,” he said, accusing the DMK of siding with the corporations and undermining people’s rights.
He said the number of police encounters has increased to 18 during the current regime, compared to the 14 during the AIADMK rule. He also criticised the government for focussing on urbanisation efforts without consulting the public.
The human rights body called for an amendment to the Special Marriage Act to facilitate self-respect and secular marriages across religions. It further demanded the state implement reforms addressing caste-based discrimination faced by prison inmates, measures to curb police excess, custodial torture and the pre-release of convicts based on their time served rather than their crimes.
The conference demanded the state to respect people’s rights and refrain from compulsory urbanisation without engaging with the public.