Puthiya Tamilagam hopes to be an alternative to Dravidian stockists, says Krishnasamy

The party will be taken forward with the realisation that social change is a must for victory over political power, he says. Party’s silver jubilee valedictory conference held near Virudhunagar

Puthiya Thamilagam has resolved to be “an alternative to Dravidian stockists” in terms of ideology and action, its founder and president, K. Krishnasamy, said at the party’s silver jubilee valedictory conference held near Virudhunagar on Thursday.

The party would be taken forward with the realisation that social change was a necessity for victory over political power, and political power was indispensable to sustain social change, he said.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Natham R. Viswanathan, who participated in the event, opined that Dr. Krishnasamy was instrumental in rectifying the huge backlog in reservation for Scheduled Castes in government jobs in Tamil Nadu after he raked up the issue seeking a white paper on reservation when he first entered the Assembly as a MLA in 1996.

According to Mr. Viswanathan, Dr. Krishnasamy never compromised on his ideology immaterial of whether his party was in alliance with the ruling party or not. He was among those who successfully fought for changing the nomenclature of seven oppressed communities into Devendrakula Velallar. He felt the silver jubilee conference that brought together several parties would lay a foundation for a strong coalition to fight the next election.

Speakers at the conference praised Puthiya Tamilagam for being the only party to seek exemption for Devendrakula Velallar from Scheduled Castes when many other communities wanted to get into the category. The conference demanded to form new revenue districts with Rajapalayam and Kovilpatti as headquarters. A district-level monitoring centre should be set up to monitor proper implementation of central schemes in Tamil Nadu.

AIADMK leaders K.T. Rajendra Bhalaji and Kadambur C. Raju, BJP leader Karuppanan Muruganandam, former MLAs Thaniyarasu and Pala. Karuppiah, IJK leaders Ravi Pachaimuthu and Srivilliputtur Jeeyar Sadagopa Ramanujar, PMK leader Thilgabama, VHP leader Vedantham, and Puthiya Tamilagam leader and Dr. Krishnasamy’s son Shyam Krishnasamy were among those who spoke.