Tamil Nadu: CPI(M) Appoints Visually Impaired Party Volunteer As District Secretary

In a rare move, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI(M), has appointed a visually impaired party volunteer B.S. Bharathi Anna as the district secretary. On Tuesday, 51-year-old B.S. Bharathi Anna, a party worker of Tamil Nadu's Chengalpattu district, has been appointed as a district committee secretary.

Bharti Anna, who lost his complete vision in 2017 due to eye myopia, is a lawyer by profession. He was born in 1971 and suffered from eye myopia at a very young age, and faced difficulty in school while studying.

While interacting with the Indian Express, Anna Said,

"In the CPM, an ordinary worker can move to the leadership of the party. A socially oppressed person too can reach the top position. Now, I am proud that a visually challenged person too can make it to the leadership."

Surprisingly, Anna has two bachelor's degrees. One is the Bachelors in Mathematics from AM Jain College of Chennai, and the other is a Bachelors of Law degree from Dr Ambedkar Law College. After completing the degree, Anna started practising in Chengalpattu.

'Had Vision Until I Was Three'

Anna entered into politics during his college days by joining the Students Federation of India in 1989. "I had vision until I was three years old. Then the visual impairment started. In 2014 the whole vision was gone," he told the Indian Express. He served as deputy secretary of Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front at that time. However, he quit after the complete loss of vision. Later, he began working in the physically challenged section with the help of modern technology.

Bharathi Anna is also the Vice President of the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Persons with Disabilities and Caregivers.

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