Various political and cultural organisations on Sunday protested against the alleged denial of opportunity by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi to dancer RLV Ramakrishnan for performing Mohiniyattam and his subsequent attempt to commit suicide.
RLV Ramakrishnan, dancer and brother of late actor Kalabhavan Mani, attempted suicide on Saturday evening allegedly after he was denied the opportunity to perform Mohiniyattam at an online programme organised by the akademi.
Action sought
BJP activists laid siege to akademi chairperson KPAC Lalitha’s house on Sunday. Alleging that the akademi denied opportunity to Mr. Ramakrishnan as he was a Dalit, BJP Thrissur district president K.K. Anish Kumar demanded action against akademi chairperson KPAC Lalitha and secretary N. Radhakrishnan Nair on charge of abetment to suicide. Action should be taken against both under the Scheduled Castes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. They should be removed from the posts, he demanded.
BJP State secretary A. Nagesh, who visited Ramakrishnan at the hospital, said it was an example of the ‘upper caste fascist stand’ of the CPI(M).
“The intellectual and cultural leaders, who often cry foul against atrocities against Dalit in BJP-ruled States, are silent on this issue. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should express his stand on the issue. The CPI(M) is trying to escape from the issue by making KPAC Lalitha a scapegoat,” he added. Kerala had become a State where atrocities against Dalits were high, he said.
‘Resignation sought’
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee secretary John Daniel alleged that the BJP and the CPI(M) were birds of the same feather in the case of Dalit atrocities. The incident in which a Dalit dancer was pushed to suicide was a blot on the image of the State. He demanded the resignation of KPAC Lalitha.