Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president K Annamalai said in an interview to Kumudam that two people have been accused by locals of contaminating a water tank used by the Dalit community with human feces in Vengaivayal village but the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government does not want to nab them due to caste politics.

When the anchor said that the incident came to light and remedial steps were taken by the District Collector because it was a DMK government with Dravidian ideology, Annamalai came down heavily at him and cited data which said that Tamil Nadu has the highest number of villages practicing untouchability.

He said to the anchor, ‘You can go and ask the Collector to find out why is it taking so long to nab the accused who are from the same village. One of the accused is a repeat offender. The village does not have a population like that of New York city that the police is unable to find them. The arrests are not done due to caste-politics and the fact that the DMK has caste-based parties in its alliance.’

He further added that even the local police know who did it.

The government recently ordered a Crime Investigation Department (CID) probe into the case.

Two other types of caste-based discrimination in Vengaivayal village, i.e., the ‘two tumbler system’ and prohibition of temple entry to Dalits had also come to light.

Reacting to the news, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state vice president, Narayanan Thirupathy had then written on Twitter that it is a failure of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)’s much touted Dravidian model of social justice.

He also said that those who say that ‘this is the land of Periyar’ and they were the ones who had established a ‘caste-less’ society should hang their heads in shame.

Also Read: ‘Number Of Villages Practising Untouchability Highest In Tamil Nadu’, Says Annamalai In Critique Of Dravidian Model Of Social Justice