# CPI(M) demands TN Chief Secretary’s removal over circular 2026-08-22T18:46:21+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet CPI(M) state secretary P. Shanmugam on Saturday demanded the removal of Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary M. Sai Kumar, alleging he was serving on an extension and that a new officer should be appointed. The demand follows a circular by the Chief Secretary advising officials to prevent students and youth from participating in protests organized by Left parties and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). CPI state secretary M. Veerapandian questioned Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay's silence on the circular, saying the Chief Minister should take responsibility. He called the circular a reflection of British colonial mindset and reminded that India is a democracy. MP Su. Venkatesan, leading a protest in Madurai, termed the circular a dangerous encroachment on democratic freedoms and raised suspicions of BJP and RSS directives influencing the state administration. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The circular targets student protests that have been a hallmark of Tamil Nadu's political culture since the anti-Hindi agitations. The Left parties, which supported the ruling TVK to form government, are now testing their political leverage. The Chief Secretary's extension itself is unusual, as he was appointed by the Election Commission during the model code period. The real question is whether Chief Minister Vijay will back his bureaucrat or bow to coalition partners. The next protest by the Left parties is scheduled for August 29, which will indicate if the government blinks. ## Coverage - thehindu.com Straight news agency style reporting of the protests and demands, no editorializing. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: C Joseph Vijay, CPI, CPI(M), M Sai Kumar, Su. Venkatesan, Tamil Nadu Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/cpim-demands-tn-chief-secretarys-removal-over-circular/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/cpim-demands-tn-chief-secretarys-removal-over-circular/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/