MADURAI: A woman panchayat president belonging to a Scheduled Caste community in a village in Sivaganga district of Tamil Nadu has alleged that she has been sidelined on caste lines by vice-president who belongs to another caste. She threatened to quit her post.
Rajeshwari Pandi, 44, who is the president of Kalpirivu village panchayat in Manamadurai panchayat union, lodged a complaint with the block development officer on Monday to take appropriate action.
She said that people were approaching her to solve various issues, including those related to civic amenities, which deserved her attention. But vice-president S Nagarajan, who belongs to the pillaimar caste, was not allowing to her work, she said.
Most people in the village belong to Rajeshwari’s community. “I am being pressurised by people elected me unopposed to the post to act on the civic issues. I could not get work done because the vice-president is pressurizing other staff not to pay heed to me. What is the purpose of continuing in the post. That’s why I decided to quit it if officials do not act on my complaint,” she said.
She said Nagarajan was making diktats and didn’t consult her. “Whenever I asked him why I am not being allowed to exercise my duty, he said that they had given me the chair and I should quietly sit on it. I should not claim any rights,” she said.
Nagarajan held all the keys, including those of office and motor room. He manages a coconut grove in the village. However, he claims that he has taken it on lease. He refused to show any documents to substantiate his claims, she said.
Panchayat secretary R Kannan, who is belonging to the konar community, is also dancing to the tune of the vice-president and refuses to do any work when she approached him, Rajeshwari said.
Rajeshwari is the mother of two and has studied up to Class VIII. She has contested in two elections earlier but lost. In the last local body elections, she was elected unopposed since the village was reserved for Scheduled Caste community, she said.
Nagarajan refuted her allegations and said that she was misusing her caste status to threaten him.
“We wanted to change the supervisor of 100-day work scheme as her tenure had ended. But the president wants her to continue as a supervisor against rules. She includes names of people who do not turn up for work but get money,” he said.
Sivagangai district collector T Jeyakanthan is yet to respond to the phone calls and message sent to him.