State not functioning independently: Thirumavalavan

October 06, 2019 09:47 pm | Updated 09:47 pm IST

TIRUNELVELI

“The AIADMK government is not functioning independently,” said Thol. Thirumavalavan, president of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.

Mr. Thirumavalavan chaired a meeting of party cadre at Erwadi near here on Sunday that was held as part of the campaign in favour of Congress candidate Ruby Manoharan fielded on behalf of the DMK alliance in the ensuing Nanguneri Assembly bypoll.

Representatives from all member parties of the alliance took part in the meeting.

Speaking to reporters in Tirunelveli, Mr. Thirumavalavan said that the DMK alliance would win both Naguneri and Vikravandi Assembly bypolls.

“The State government is being subservient to the BJP government at the Centre. The BJP is taking all efforts to gain a foothold in the State but Tamil people would never give it an opportunity to do that,” he said.

“The bypolls will be a precursor to the Assembly polls. People should be vigilant and vote for the DMK alliance. The BJP has been working with the sole aim to destroy Tamils and Tamil identities and the AIADMK government has been justifying the efforts of the Centre,” he added.

Pointing out the sedition charges filed against more than 50 cinema personalities for writing an open letter to the Prime Minister against mob lynching and cow vigilantism, Mr. Thirumavalavan said that the BJP government had buried the right to free speech and expression.

He urged that the Prime Minister should intervene and roll back the sedition charges. “The Tamil Nadu government should put pressure on the Central government to take back the charges,” he said.

“It has been a repeated allegation by caste fanatics that the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act is being misused. If it is misused, the police and government should take responsibility for it. Instead, the affected Dalits are being blamed, which is not right,” he said.

Mr. Thirumavalavan added that a museum should be constructed in Madurai and the artefacts unearthed in the Keeladi excavations should be preserved in it. He demanded that the government should release the report of the first three phases of excavation done by Archaeological Survey of India.

“Based on the findings in the fourth phase of excavation, archaeologists and historians have pointed out that ancient Tamil society was devoid of religion and caste divisions,” he said.

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