MLA JJ Ebenezer threatened legal action against an activist who said that his actions were wrong and illegal.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MLA for RK Nagar, Chennai, threatened to file a case against an activist who had called attention to an instance of a worker being made to manually clean a gully without any protective gear. On January 3, Dalit activist and writer Shalin Maria Lawrence shared a video story by a news channel on Twitter of MLA JJ Ebenezer overseeing a worker of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) cleaning the gully with bare hands. Other social media users also shared video clips of the incident that clearly show the worker removing handfuls of semi-solid waste from a drain wearing no gloves or any other protective gear.
Making a worker manually remove waste and failing to provide protective gear are in violation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act (PEMSR). When Shalin pointed this out, Ebenezer replied to her tweet saying, “If you don’t remove the words ‘MLA forced a corporation sanitation worker’ I’ll give complaint regarding this. I have full footage.” The MLA also claimed in the same tweet that the work that was being carried out was for a drinking water pipe clogging and that it wasn’t a drainage system.
The MLA in his response also said that he did not talk to the worker at all and that he has full footage of the incident. A longer video shared by another Twitter user does not appear to support the MLA’s claim and it shows him directing the worker through hand gestures. The MLA’s claims beg the question why a pipe supplying drinking water appears to be clogged with the kind of contamination seen in the video.
This is unfair. If you don’t remove the word ” mla forced a corporation sanitation worker ” i ll give complaint regarding this. I have full footage. I even didn’t not talked with that worker. First of all that is not a drainage, it’s a drinking water cloagging.
— J.J.Ebenezer MLA (@JJEbenezer1) January 4, 2023
DMK MLA @JJEbenezer1 must be jailed from 2 to 5 years for violating “Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Act and Rule) 2013”
Now he threatens common for questioning him, misuse of power! https://t.co/MnNtdA5nZH pic.twitter.com/0RLsU8VEDe
— பிரபா (@prabhaarr) January 4, 2023
Speaking to TNM, Shalin said, “By threatening me and diverting attention from the issue, the action that should have been taken against the MLA has not been taken. It has been 48 hours since the incident. Has he been sent a notice? Has any case been filed? Is this not wrong?”
After many condemned the MLA’s response to Shalin, he tweeted on January 5 that he had been touring his constituency as part of the MLA at your Doorstep programme in order to understand the people’s concerns. He added that on December 31, the residents of ward 43 had complained about waterlogging under a hand pump. He added that the water flow in a 4-inch diameter gully leading to the rainwater harvesting system was stuck due to mud and leaves clogging it. The MLA also claimed that a sanitation worker who was present had cleared the debris and had stated that those who fill water from the pump in the area could have cleaned it themselves. He further claimed that he had not noticed what the sanitation worker was doing and that he’d been talking to someone else regarding complaints from another street. However, contrary to his claims, the viral videos clearly show him giving directions to the sanitation worker removing the semi-solid waste with bare hands.
அனைவருக்கும் வணக்கம், கடந்த டிசம்பர் 31
அன்று முதல் ஆர்.கே. நகர் சட்டமன்ற தொகுதியில் “உங்களை தேடி
தினந்தோறும் உங்கள் எம்எல்ஏ ( MLA at your Doorsteps ) என்ற
தலைப்பில் வீடுவீடாக அனைத்து துறை அலுவலர்களுடன் சென்று
குறைகளை அறிந்து மனுக்களை பெற்று ஆய்வு மேற்கொண்டு
வருகிறோம். (1/5) pic.twitter.com/NsUPBMFVaN— J.J.Ebenezer MLA (@JJEbenezer1) January 5, 2023
Source: The News Minute