Part-time teacher's suicide triggers political backlash against DMK government

A part-time teacher who was detained during a protest in Tamil Nadu has reportedly died by suicide. The incident triggered sharp reactions from Opposition parties, who have blamed the ruling DMK government for the incident.

Part-time teachers have been protesting for the past week near the Directorate of Public Instruction (DPI) building, pressing several demands, including the regularisation of their services, which they say was promised by the DMK during the Assembly election campaign. During the protest, several teachers were detained by the police.

Kannan, a part-time Physical Education teacher from Perambalur, reportedly consumed a poisonous chemical and was rushed to hospital, where he later died.

Reacting to the incident, BJP state president Nainar Nagendran said Kannan had taken the extreme step after waiting for years believing the DMK’s promise to regularise part-time teachers once it came to power. He termed the death a “deep stain” on the ruling government and accused it of betraying the trust of part-time teachers.

PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss also held the DMK government responsible for Kannan’s death. He said the party had failed to fulfil its manifesto promise despite repeated protests by part-time teachers over the past five years.

He alleged that continued repression and neglect had caused mental distress, leading to the suicide. Ramadoss demanded that the government fulfil the teachers’ demands, provide Rs 50 lakh as financial assistance to Kannan’s family, and offer a government job to one of his family members.

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