Alleging that former AIADMK Minister Va Thu Natarajan had made disparaging remarks against them while addressing a temple function, Dalits from Uppur presented petitions to the Collector and Superintendent of Police demanding action against him under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Led by K. Ramanathan, village leader and former councillor, residents of Uppur, near the historic ‘Veyil Ugantha Vinayakar Temple’ who visited the Collectorate here on Monday alleged that the former Minister while addressing the last day of ‘mandagapadi’ on the occasion of Vinayakar chathurthi festival on August 25, made derogatory remarks against the Dalits, fomenting communal hatred.
Dalits were already hurt as people of ‘dominant communities’ in and around Uppur refused to collect ‘tax’ from them for the Vinayakar Chaturthi celebration and did not allow them to perform ‘mandagapadi’ for more than ten years. They were also prevented from taking part in the eight-day long festival at an Amman temple in Uppur, Mr Ramanathan said.
SP Omprakash Meena assured to take action after going through the police records, he said. They could not meet Collector S. Natarajan, he said.