Pattali Makkal Katchi president G K Mani said the party felt sorry for the tragic death of Dalit youth E Ilavarasan last Thursday.
“We feel sorry for Ilavarasan,” Mani told mediapersons here on Thursday, after coming out of Vellore Central Prison, where he met party cadre detained under the Goondas Act and National Security Act (NSA) and lodged in the prison.
Mani was accompanied by former Union Railway Minister R Velu and Anaicut MLA M Kalaiarasan. However, he refused to speak further on the violence unleashed against the Dalits after the inter-caste marriage of Ilavarasan and Divya. “The case is pending in court. We will express our views once the case is over,” he quipped.
Responding to a question on political parties in the State charging PMK of trying to gain mileage over caste division, he said, “Unable to stomach the rising popularity of PMK, several parties were making such comments.”
Further Mani said their party leader had never been against any community. “We want to bring a change in the SC/ST Atrocity Act. It is being backed by various sections of the community,” he added. On the arrest of the PMK cadre, he said, “We will face the cases legally.”