RAMANATHAPURAM
Residents of Adhanakuruchi, a Dalit-dominated village in Mudukulathur block, thronged the Collectorate here on Thursday, alleging that caste Hindus had usurped the village panchayat post by auctioning, and seeking the intervention of the Collector.
Led by village leaders M. Murugaiah (Adhanakuruchi Colony), K. Kalimuthu (Kizhavareni Colony) and K. Ganesan (Kannankottai village), large number of men and women visited the Collectorate and lodged a complaint with Collector K. Veera Raghava Rao, urging him to take action against those who tried to subvert the democratic process.
They said Adhanakuruchi panchayat comprising the three villages had a total electorates of about 1,400 – about 500 Scheduled Caste voters and 900 others, including Thevars and Konars. After the election process for rural local bodies commenced last week, the dominant community members auctioned the president post for ₹21 lakh, they alleged.
The post was auctioned in October 2016, when the Tamil Nadu Election Commission announced elections to the local bodies, which were subsequently stayed by the Madras High Court. One Aandi from the dominant community had won the auction by paying ₹40 lakh. After the election was stayed, people returned the money, they said. As Aandi was no more, his wife Ramalakshmi had won the auction this time for ₹21 lakh, they alleged. The leaders urged the Collector to enquire into the incident and take action against those involved.
Alleging that they were not allowed to exercise their democratic rights, the village leaders said three panchayat wards were reserved for SC people but they would boycott the elections as a mark of protest.
The Collector ordered an enquiry into the alleged auction. He said revenue and police officials had been asked to keep a close watch on villages. The officials visited Aapanur following a complaint of auctioning but it turned out to be false, Mr. Rao said.
