New Tamil Nadu party leader Dr. Krishnasamy criticized VCK leader Thirumavalavan and Minister Vanni Arasu, and announced, "On Emmanuel Sekaran Memorial Day, we will stage a protest against Vanni Arasu."
Following this, supporters of the VCK and supporters of the New Tamil Nadu party have been trading criticisms on social media in recent days, and it is going beyond a mere war of words and turning into social criticism.
When Dr. Krishnasamy came to Madurai on the 30th and spoke to reporters, he said, "The department for the welfare of Scheduled Communities is named in the name of one community as the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department. We have long been insisting that a common name should be given to that department for the welfare of the 76 communities on the list, and we welcomed the fact that the T.V.K. government has now changed it to the Social Justice Department.
However, while Thirumavalavan and Ravikumar remained silent when Vanni Arasu took office as the minister for the Social Justice Department, a month later they have started saying that it should remain the Adi Dravidar Welfare Department.
Minister Vanni Arasu also continued to refer to it as Adi Dravidar during the grant demands in the Legislative Assembly, which seems like an insult to the 76 communities on the list.
Our community, which was called by seven names—Pallar, Kudumbar, Kaaladi, Pannadi, Devendira Kulathan, Kadayan, and Vathiriyan—fought for a hundred years and, by pressing the central government, has been changed to a single name, Devendrakula Vellalar.
For this name change, how long we struggled, how many protests and conferences we held.
Along with the name change, we have been urging the central and state governments to remove them from the SC list, include them in the MBC list, and provide 7 percent reservation.
However, in condemnation of the Vanni government, which is trying to hide all this and force everyone into the Adi Dravidar category, the people who come for the Emmanuel Sekaran memorial day will arrive with banners bearing protest slogans. They will also urge the T.V.K. government to remain firm in its policy," he said.
Moreover, he had also strongly criticized, saying, "Without mentioning the leaders of the Justice Party and the Dravidar Kazhagam, Udhayanidhi said that Thirumavalavan is the ideological leader, forgetting Periyar, Anna, and Kalaignar. That shows his weakness. Are chameleons the ideological leaders? Are Periyar, Anna, Kalaignar, and Thirumavalavan the same?"
Following this, VCK supporters began strongly criticizing Dr. Krishnasamy, and in response, New Tamil Nadu party supporters started criticizing Thirumavalavan, and it is escalating intensely.
When asked about this, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi spokesperson Pavalan said, "Our leader has said not to respond to this. Dr. Krishnasamy, who is facing political decline, is acting in a way that disrupts harmony by bringing caste into the lives of working people.
Without doing any good for his own community, he has changed his ideology for his own selfish interests. Moreover, he cannot accept the growth of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal, who take to the field and fight for all the people who are affected. Trying to put Viduthalai Chiruthaigal and Thirumavalavan before the people for self-serving politics will ultimately backfire on him."
Krishnasamy, whose politics has gone off track, is speaking like this just to show that he still exists. He could have held a protest on another day, but since people would not come to support him, he is trying to use the people who come for martyr Immanuel Sekaran’s memorial day for his own politics," he said.
Meanwhile, in a video message released by VCK leader Thirumavalavan, he said, "The relationship between the DMK and the VCK is not based on elections. It is on that basis that, even after leaving the alliance for certain political reasons, Udhayanidhi has referred to me as his ideological mentor. DMK functionaries present in the Assembly that day applauded and endorsed it. This has brought pride to our movement. At this point, some people are criticizing this."
In particular, he has criticized, “Is Thirumavalavan superior to Periyar and Anna, brother Krishnasamy?” It has also caused a stir that he said, “I saw our party members reacting to this. No one should react to Krishnasamy anymore; just move on.”
Speaking about this to some Dalit community activists, they said, “Krishnasamy and Thirumavalavan, who in the early days raised their voices together for the rights of Dalit people, have not only turned into two opposing poles over time, but it is also a sad matter that they have now reached the point of harshly criticizing each other.
Without realizing it, it is not right for supporters of both parties to stoop to a low level and criticize on social media. A clash of opinions between members of the two parties could risk creating a divide between the two communities.
Next, the government is making extensive security arrangements across the southern region to conduct peacefully the memorial day of freedom fighter martyr Immanuel Sekaran, who is worshipped as a deity by the Devendra Kula Vellalar community. During the previous DMK regime, a memorial hall was built in Paramakudi, and an event is being held on behalf of the government.
Everyone’s view is that such a memorial event, where people from all parties come and hundreds of thousands gather, should not be turned into a site of protest. Because people have not yet forgotten that in 2011, when news spread that Tamil Nadu Munnani Kazhagam leader John Pandian was arrested on his way to Paramakudi to pay tribute, a sit-in protest that began normally in Paramakudi later turned into a riot, and ended in tragedy with 7 people killed in police gunfire and many injured in the attack.
Therefore, let political opposition be carried out on another day; everyone should cooperate to ensure that the tribute event is held peacefully," they said.
This time, since key ministers from the T.V.K. government are expected to visit, in order to ensure that no disturbance arises, Tamil Nadu Law and Order DGP Anbu, along with South Zone IG Vijayendra Bidari, Ramanathapuram Range DIG Manivannan, and SP Sandheesh, are overseeing the security arrangements.