While the ruling DMK and its alliance partners are unanimously working for the annihilation of Sanatan Dharma from Tamil Nadu, Governor RN Ravi has said that untouchability is prevalent in the State even after 75 years of independence.
Addressing a public meeting at Thanjavur on Sunday, the Governor said that however hard a section of people try, Sanatan Dharma can never be eradicated from Tamil Nadu or from India.
Ravi pointed out that social discrimination was still being practiced in various parts of the State. Referring to recent events like mixing of human excreta with drinking water supplied to the Harijan families in Pudukottai district, he said it was a despicable act and should be condemned strongly.
The Governor also referred to news reports about denial of entry to Harijans ino temples in many parts of the State. He made it clear that he was not blaming anybody in particular but was expressing his anguish at such reports.
It is an open secret that the State follows two-tumbler system in many parts where Harijans are served tea/coffee in separate glasses while the caste Hindus have special glasses.
Tamil Nadu may be the only State in South India where the Harijans and caste Hindus have separate living areas. “All major political parties that claim to work for establishing classless, casteless society, pick candidates from the majority castes in each constituencies at the time of election. This is doublespeak,” said R V Giri, former all-India president of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association (CIFA), an umbrella organization of all farmers’ associations in the country.
He said the Governor was well within his rights to point out these inherent failures among the Dravidian outfits. A controversy is raging all over Tamil Nadu following the calls made by Udhayanidhi Stalin, heir apparent to chief minister M K Stalin, to eliminate and annihilate the Sanatan Dharma from the State to make it free from casteism and communalism. Many top sidekicks of Stalin extended their support to Udhayanidhi by using severe terms against the Dharma.
Arjun Sampath, founder, Hindu Makkal Katchi, an apolitical organization, said that the DMK wants to divert the attention of the voters as the last two years of rule by Stalin was a failure in all rounds. “Stalin hopes to consolidate the Christian and Muslim votes in favor of the DMK by attacking Sanatan Dharma. It is not going to work this time as people have seen through his designs,” said Sampath.
BJP Tamil Nadu chief K Annamalai said in a statement that at the time of election Stalin would claim that 90 per cent of the DMK cadres are Hindus. “But once the elections are over he will resume his attack against the Sanatana Dharma. We can see him making a vault face once the Election Commission announces the poll schedule for the Lok Sabha election,” said Annamalai.
The chief minister is busy inaugurating the various schemes which were promised by the DMK in its 2021 election manifesto. Last Friday, Stalin inaugurated the Kalaignar Thittam, a scheme named after his father, offering Rs 1,000 per month to one crore women in the State.