Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) president Thol Thirumavalavan on Sunday alleged that the violence at Ponparappi in Ariyalur, falling in the Chidambaram Lok Sabha constituency from where he contested, was an orchestrated attack on Dalits to intimidate or prevent them from voting.
He said the attack was unjustifiable since Dalits had around 50 votes, while Vanniyars had a substantial presence in Ponparappi, the birthplace of Tamil nationalist leader Tamizharasan, who was killed while attempting to rob a bank. “I do not say that the Vanniyars are against me,” he said, adding that they were instigated by PMK founder S. Ramadoss and his son Anbumani Ramadoss.
“I deem it my political duty to liberate the Vanniyars from the clutches of the PMK and Dr. Ramadoss, because he has poisoned even the children of the community,” he said in an interview with The Hindu.
Seeks re-poll
Mr. Thirumavalavan said he would meet Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo on Monday seeking a re-poll in Ponparappi since the Returning Officer had rejected the request.
“I will submit a letter with the signatures of 200 voters, who could not vote because of the violence. The Election Commission has ordered re-poll in eight booths in the Dharmapuri constituency and it is a shame for the PMK,” he charged.
Mr. Thirumavalavan alleged that the PMK indulged in bogus voting and booth capturing wherever it had a strong presence. “They prevented the Dalits from voting. Odakkanallur in Cuddalore is a case in point. Dr Ramadoss had said if 10 lion cubs guarded a booth, nobody will dare to vote against PMK and its allies. He also said the booths would be under the control of PMK men on the day of election. They threatened the DMK booth agents in an attempt to silence them,” he alleged. “But we were able to defeat the designs of the PMK in many areas with the help of the DMK and the Left parties,” he said.
Mr. Thirumavalavan said the attack was well-planned and the PMK started it by demanding a bunk shop owner to deface the VCK’s ‘Pot’ symbol.
“When he refused, a local Hindu Munnani cadre, who had a stint in the PMK, whitewashed the symbol. Subsequently, there was an attempt to target Dalit women on the ground that they spoke against Vanniyars. They entered into an argument with local Dalit Gunaseelan, who questioned them. Suddenly, a group entered and attacked Dalits and their houses,” he alleged.
Alleging that the police arrested only three of the 27 persons who were involved in the attack, Mr. Thirumavalavan said over 150 houses were damaged and an elderly man’s finger was broken.
He said the VCK would organise a demonstration across the State on April 24 and all the alliance partners of the DMK-Congress combine would take part in the event.