Gomathi, one of the key leaders of Pengal Otrumai, the apolitical collective of women plantation workers in Munnar which caught headlines after its mass agitation at Kanan Devan Hills Plantation Ltd (KDHPL) in Munnar, has been hospitalised after an alleged suicide attempt.
This has plunged the collective into a crisis. Gomathi, an estate worker at the Devikulam factory of KDHPL, had won from the Nallathanny division of Devikulam block panchayat in the recent local body elections, in her organisation’s maiden political outing. Two other leaders of the Pengal Otrumai were also elected to the Munnar and Devikulam grama panchayats. The Pengal Otrumai bagged the vice president’s post in the Munnar grama panchayat after its members supported the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the president’s election on Thursday, which otherwise would have gone to the Left Democratic Front (LDF), which had secured one seat more than the UDF.
‘Missing’
It was the declared stand of the collective that it would ‘independently’ face the election and would stand alone after. Gomathi was ‘missing’ from Munnar for a couple of days which, one of its leaders Lissy Sunny openly alleged, was because she had gone to Tamil Nadu to hold parleys with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIDMK) leaders to form an alliance with them.
The AIADMK was trying to make inroads into areas of Devikulam taluk as the majority of the people are of Tamil origin, traditionally living in the estate lanes.
Gomathi’s version
Gomathi countered the allegation maintaining that she had gone underground as there were cases against her and it was done as advised by her lawyer.
The division in the Pengal Otrumai had come into open soon after the elections.
Ironically, it was the unique mass agitation, keeping away all political parties, which gave the collective its space in the local politicalscape.
Division in the women’s collective in Munnar has come into open soon after the local body elections.
