DMK Govt. by building memorials for Dalit leaders conceals its failure in addressing actual issues of Dalits, says ‘Evidence’ Kathir

DMK government conceals funds meant for Dalit upliftment, failing to address caste atrocities and discrimination effectively.

“By allocating funds and proudly announcing identification projects for Dalit leaders, the DMK government has comfortably concealed the fact it has sent back about ₹10,000 crore to the Union government meant for the upliftment of Dalit community,” according to Kathir, founder of Evidence, an NGO-based in Madurai.  

Speaking at a social justice conference on ‘Tamil Nadu and caste atrocities’ here on Sunday, Mr. Kathir said such memorials and statues could be built by the respective parties, organisations and even the public, but the responsibility of the State government was to provide necessary support mechanisms such as education, scholarships and projects, among others, to improve their quality of life and to break the shackles that hindered their development. 

“Chief Minister M.K. Stalin proudly proclaims that caste-based atrocities have been brought down by his government, but data suggests that they have doubled in the last four years,” he added.  

Since the DMK government took charge, about 38 issues related to denial of temple entry and performance of rituals in temples had been recorded.  

Mr. Stalin, while speaking in the Assembly on the Vengaivayal incident, said the victims became sick due to faecal matter found in the overhead tank, but the charge sheet filed by CB-CID denied the presence of the faecal matter for the sickness, he pointed out.  

Not just the government, even the judiciary, which was displaying its apparent casteism, delivered the least conviction of 3% for both the Scheduled Castes/Schedule Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act cases and sexual assault cases, Mr. Kathir claimed.  

When the SC/ST Act stated that the cases should be disposed within three months of filing of the charge sheet under the Act, more than 7,500 SC/ST cases were pending in Tamil Nadu alone.