Fissures began to surface in the Chengara Solidarity Forum camp with the forum vice-chairman and Adivasi Gotra Jana Sabha State co-ordinator, Sreeraman Koyyon, strongly criticising the functioning of the Sadhu Jana Vimochana Samyukta Vedi (SJVSV) president, Laha Gopalan.
Talking to The Hindu here on Wednesday, the Chengara Solidarity Forum leader has accused the Vedi leadership of deceiving the landless poor people who have been camping on encroached land at Chengara in subhuman conditions in the fervent hope of getting farm land of their own to earn their livelihood for the past two years.
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Mr. Koyyon alleged that Mr. Gopalan’s opportunistic attitude had paved the way for certain extremist elements hijacking the Chengara agitation that had attained even national and international attention at one stage. He alleged that “an Emergency” like situation prevailed and the poor, hapless people, mostly women, were subjected to persecution, for not playing to the tunes of the vedi leadership.’’
The simmering resentment among the landless encroachers against the vedi leadership might lead to an explosive situation any time, leading to utter chaos, defeating the very cause of the land struggle itself, he said.
He alleged that the agreement reached between Mr. Gopalan and the government on the Chengara issue would only lead to a denial of the prevailing right of the tribal people to get one acre to five acres of land for farming as per the agreement reached between the former Chief Minister, A.K. Antony and the Adivasi Gotra Jana Sabha leaders on October 16, 2001. The agreement reached between Mr. Gopalan and the government further denied allotment of land to a majority of landless people who have taken part in the Chengara land struggle, he alleged.
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According to Mr. Koyyon, a majority of Dalit families camping at Chengara were being excluded from the purview of the survey conducted by the Revenue department due to the alleged antagonistic attitude of the vedi leadership towards them. He further alleged that the vedi leaders have consciously kept with them the forms issued by the Revenue department as part of the survey conducted among the encroachers, ultimately keeping a majority of the landless vedi workers outside the official list.
The forum leader said as many as 350 disheartened landless families have already left Chengara in the past three days due to the negative attitude of the vedi leadership towards them.
Probe sought
Mr. Koyyon accused the vedi leadership of large scale fleecing of the landless people at Chengara in the name of fund mobilisation.
He has demanded an exhaustive investigation into the very functioning of SJVSV leaders and their nefarious connections to avoid any further ditching of the hapless Dalits, tribals and other landless people in the name of the Chengara agitation.
The forum leader also called for allotment of land to all the landless people who took part in the Chengara agitation right from the beginning on August 5, 2007.