At the public hearing meant to hear grievances regarding the construction of a memorial to late chief minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader M Karunanidhi, due process seemed to hardly matter. A majority of those assembled at Chennai’s Kalaivanar Arangam on January 31 appeared to be affiliated either with the ruling-DMK or with one of its rival regional parties, Seeman’s Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK). Heckling, threats, and chaos reigned at the hearing for the proposed Muthamizh Ariginar Dr Kalaignar Monument. In the chaos, one activist was molested while attempting to ensure that her organisation was given a chance to speak at the hearing. Planned as a 50-feet pen-shaped sculpture to be constructed within the sea waters, the monument has faced stiff opposition from local fishing communities and environmentalists, who fear destruction to marine life.
Environmental and social activists, representing these concerns, told TNM that the hearing had been hijacked by people from the DMK and the NTK. The activists said that they were unable to present their concerns or raise queries with the authorities, since they were never given a change to even speak. Each speaker was told that they could speak only for three minutes. Mugilan, an activist who was part of the Kudankulam agitation, was heckled for the entire time he was on stage. When he persisted in trying to speak, one of the officials told him that his time was up. A shouting match and repeated heckling continued until Mugilan’s microphone was switched off and he was forced off stage.
Speaking to TNM on the condition of anonymity, the activist who was molested said, “The meeting was wrapped up at 1:30pm. Since we had not been able to speak until then, several of us activists tried to approach the stage. I was taking a video of my colleague who got onto the stage to talk to the officials. Initially, there was no crowd near me. Suddenly some important persons who seemed to be from the DMK, came escorted by a group of men. I was molested several times, as the crowd began to thicken. I couldn't move to safety as my way out was blocked. I pressed up against the stage to protect myself. I couldn’t see the faces of who molested me, but I was surrounded by party workers and the police.” The survivor reached out to TNM after the hearing and said that police were refusing to file an FIR, “We have been at the Triplicane D1 police station for four hours now. The police are refusing to take the complaint.”
Others told TNM that there was no transparency in how registration was done for those wanting to speak on stage. “There was someone taking down names at the entrance to the building. Most people assumed that was the list for speaker registration,” said Saravanan from Chennai Climate Change Activist Group. He added, “There was another list being circulated inside on which you had to register. Nobody had been assigned to announce that such a list even exists.”
Activist Vandhana from the Vettiver Collective also pointed out that each speaker was only given three minutes on stage and that the hearing was closed at 1.30 pm without any prior announcement. “They had not mentioned in the invite that the hearing was only until 1.30 pm. This is not normal procedure for such public hearings. People are allowed to speak for however long they need to. I have been at public hearings for projects even more catastrophic than this one, but the conduct of the hearing was far more transparent, she said, adding, “Usually people are even allowed to make presentations. That’s the meaning of a public hearing, you have to listen to the public. That didn’t happen here.” Vandhana also highlighted that public hearings are not time-bound and that it was odd that hearing regarding the Kalaignar memorial ended at 1.30 pm, when several activists were still asking to be given a chance to speak.
Raju from The Save Chennai Beaches Campaign echoed the objections of the other activists. “At a hearing attended by more than 1000 people, it’s extremely saddening that only 30 people were allowed to talk. I see these proceedings as opposed to social justice. Even of those thousand people, I have to wonder how many of them had come there on behalf of the DMK, because those heckling the people speaking against the construction of the monument were extremely loud,” he said.
Both Vandhana and Raju drew attention to the arrival of multiple buses bringing in party supporters to the venue at Kalaivanar Arangam. TNM also witnessed the ruckus that ensued when NTK chief Seeman took the stage. Cheers from supporters and heckling from those opposing him took place for several minutes. The NTK leader, at one point, also walked away from the microphone towards one of the hecklers in a threatening manner to silence them. Seeman also strongly opposed the monument saying that it would impact livelihoods of fisher people