Tamil Nadu: Collector And SP Facilitates Temple Entry For Dalits In Pudukottai; BJP Leader Says, 'Failure Of Dravidian Model Of Social Justice'

District Collector Kavitha Ramu and the Superintendent of Police (SP) Vandita Pandey of Pudukottai district led the entry of Dalits into a temple at Vengaivayal village.

The Collector and SP had come to the village after receiving complaints of discrimination. Dalit residents of the village had recently lodged a police complaint against the ‘two-tumbler’ system prevalent in the tea stalls.

While one tumbler was to be used by the upper castes, the other was to be used by the Dalits.

In another case of caste-based discrimination in the same village, Dalit residents said that they suspected that human excreta was intentionally mixed in the water tank that they use. They said that the issue came to light when some youths from the community fell ill and doctors suspected water contamination to be the reason.

It was during the enquiry that the Collector and SP were informed that Dalits were not allowed to enter the Ayyanar temple in the village due to their caste.

A case was filed against unidentified persons and an inquiry has been initiated to find out those who were responsible.

Reacting to the news, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state vice president, Narayanan Thirupathy wrote on Twitter that it is a failure of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)’s much touted Dravidian model of social justice.

He said that those who say that ‘this is the land of Periyar’ and they were the ones who had established a ‘caste-less’ society should hang their heads in shame.

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