Chennai: “The circular that imposes restrictions on government employees’ right to criticize should be withdrawn. Criticism is an inseparable part of democracy. Threatening people not to criticize is an act of suppressing democracy,” the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has said in criticism.
In a statement issued by the party on this, it said: The Tamil Nadu State Committee meeting of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) is being held in Chennai on October 23 and 24, 2026, at the party’s state committee office, the P.R. Memorial, under the chairmanship of State Executive Committee member K. Swaminathan.
Present at this meeting were the party’s Political Leadership Committee member U. Vasuki, State Secretary P. Shanmugam, Central Committee members P. Sampath, N. Gunasekaran, K. Balabharathi, and members of the State Executive Committee and State Committee.
Resolution passed at today’s meeting: A circular dated 19.10.2026 has been issued in the name of an oral order from the Director of Public Health. It states that government employees must not criticize in any way the actions, policies, or schemes of the Union Government or the State Government, and warns that disciplinary action will be taken against those who do so.
The Tamil Nadu State Committee of the Marxist Communist Party condemns this and strongly insists that this circular be withdrawn immediately.
At a time when neoliberal policies are being implemented very aggressively, when the Union government or the state government issues schemes, policies, or announcements that are against the people, the right to voice opinions against them, criticize them, and struggle against them is a right guaranteed by the Constitution.
It is the right of government employees, or those associated with any public sector undertaking of the government, to criticize government policies that affect them and to struggle against them.
In this era, where appointments to government jobs are being made in a manner devoid of any social protection—through privatization, contract-based hiring, and outsourcing—and as a result most government posts remain vacant, thereby denying employment opportunities that should be available to the youth of Tamil Nadu, it is the duty of citizens to speak out against all this and to struggle.
The previous government’s guaranteed pension scheme, which had set the amount at 50 percent of the last salary drawn, was announced as an interim benefit at 30 percent; later, an order was issued limiting it to a maximum of Rs. 10,000 for those who had not completed 18 years of service. After the Marxist Communist Party, various other parties, and government employees’ and teachers’ associations criticized it, the government withdrew it. This is a recent example.
Therefore, criticism is an inseparable part of democracy. Threatening that criticism should not be made is an act of suppressing democracy. A resolution has been passed stating that the Tamil Nadu state committee of the Marxist Communist Party urges the Tamil Nadu government to immediately withdraw the above circular.