Expressing disappointment over the delay in removing the seven subsects [to be grouped as] ‘Devendrakula Velalar’ from the list of the Scheduled Castes, Puthiya Tamilagam (PT) president K. Krishnasamy said he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to press the demand.
Dr. Krishnasamy, whose party has been agitating in support of the demand, told journalists in Tirunelveli on Wednesday that the Bill tabled in Parliament dealt only with granting assent for inclusion of the seven subsects of SCs under ‘Devendrakula Velalar’.
“When Mr. Modi made an announcement in this connection in Chennai recently, he only referred to the inclusion of the seven subsects under the name ‘Devendrakula Velalar’, but refrained from making any announcement on removing ‘Devendrakula Velalar’ from the SC list. This is shocking.”
He said he would meet Mr. Modi during his visit to Coimbatore on February 25 and Mr. Shah during his visit to Tamil Nadu on February 28.
Letters would be sent to the Prime Minister and the Home Minister in this connection and signatures collected in the villages in support of the demand would be submitted, he said.
The PT would organise its political conference in three phases across Tamil Nadu, he said.
When asked if his party continues to be a part of the AIADMK-led alliance, Dr. Krishnasamy refused to reply. He parried questions relating to electoral politics in Tamil Nadu. “We will make our political stance clear only after the election is notified,” he said.
