Karunanidhi adopting 'anti-Dalit' attitude: DPI leader

Chennai, Mar 27: Coming down heavily on DMK president M Karunanidhi for his 'anti-Dalits' attitude, Dalit Panthers of India (DPI) general secretary Thol Thirumavalavan today said the DMK patriarch was only interested in securing Dalit votes and not ready to share political power with them.

Participating in the meet-the-press programme organised by the Chennai Press Club here, Mr Thirumavalavan said the DPI was for giving political power to the working class and suppressed people.

Stating that major political parties used Dalits to strengther their vote banks, he said in the 2001 Assembly elections he was with the DMK and was elected to house on its ticket.

In 2004 Lok Sabha elections, he appealed to Mr Karunanidhi to treat the DPI as one of its alliance partner and give representation to a Dalit candidate for contesting the Lok Sabha polls but he refused, he added.

''Protesting against this, I resigned from the legislator's post, won with the DMK symbol,'' he said adding Mr Karunanidhi was now adopting the same 'anti-Dalits' stand.

Describing the DMK-led DPA as ''Dalits Prohibited Alliance,'' Mr Thirumavalan called upon the Dalits to reject this coalition and teach a suitable lesson to them in the May 8 Assembly elections.

He said in order to foster social harmony, Pattali Makkal Katchi founder President S Ramadoss wanted the DPI to be included in DMK-led DPA, but Mr Karunanidhi turned it down. Instead, Mr Karunanidhi suggested the PMK to allot seats to DPI from the PMK's quota, he added.

The DPI wanted the PMK to come out of the DPA headed by the DMK and lead a new front, but due to unavoidable circumstances Dr Ramadoss preferred to stay with the DMK-led front, Mr Thirumavalavan said.

Accusing Mr Karunanidhi of enacting a ''drama'' on Protection of Tamil language, Thirumavalavan said despite being the Chief Minister of the state for four times, he never made any sincere attempt to make Tamil on official language and introduce it as a medium of instruction. Though he claimed that he got the classical status for Tamil, he did nothing to protect the interest of Tamil language, Mr Thirumavalavan said. In the recent developments in Sri Lanka from where hundreds of Tamils reached the state as refugees, Mr Karunanidhi kept mum, he added.

The DPI leader said if the DMK, which had a lion share in the Centre, was allowed to form the government in Tamil Nadu, it would 'swindle' the wealth of the state. He appealed to the people not to vote for the DMK front under any circumstances.

He also accused Mr Karunanidhi of attempts to make one of his sons as the chief minister of and if this was allowed, it would pave way for 'autocratic' rule, Mr Thirumavalavan said.

Referring to the Pappapatti, Keeripatti and Nattarmangalam village panchayats issue, in which the elected Dalits panchayat presidents were not in a position to assume office, Mr Thirumavalavan said due to the DPI's agitation, the elections were held in these village panchayats. The DPI had now decided to seek suitable legal remedy to this problem, he added.

When a reporter drew his attention about the different stand on the Sri Lankan Tamils issue by the AIADMK and DPI, he said Chief Minister J Jayalaithaa was not against SriLankan Tamils. Moreover, the DPI was having only an electoral adjustment with the AIADMK for the coming Assembly elections, He said. this does not mean that the party has given up the its principles, he added.

''In 2001 Assembly elections, the DPI contested eight seats and now it was going to contest nine This showed the growth of the DPI,'' he said.

Asked whether actor-turned politician Vijayakanth's Desiya Murpokku Dravidar Kazhagam (DMDK) would give a tuff fight to the DPI candidates in the Northen District assembly constituencies, Mr Thirumavalavan said ''People will reply to this question.'' Referring to Congress President Sonia Gandhi quitting her MP seat and chairperson of the National Advisory Council over the 'office of profit,' issue, Mr Thirumavalavan said 'it is a surrender before the arrest and not the so-called sacrifice.'

UNI