VIRUDHUNAGAR: A day after The New Indian Express reported that the Dalit woman panchayat president at Gurumurthy Naickenpatti village of Virudhunagar had filed a petition alleging caste discrimination, the 37-year-old M Muthulakshmi was made to sit inside the panchayat office in the chair of the president on Thursday.
Speaking to TNIE on Thursday, Muthulakshmi said that for the first time she had been allowed to sit in the president’s chair since taking charge.
"Today, I was given the keys to the office. All the documents were handed over to me and I was made to sit in the president’s chair,” she said.
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Muthulakshmi had on Wednesday told the TNIE that she was being discriminated against on the basis of her caste. She said that vice-president of the panchayat P Varadharaj (51), a caste Hindu, had forced her to sit on the floor of the office and had not allowed her to fulfill her duties.
Matters came to a head after she complained about the discrimination following which she was thrown out of the office, sources said.
On Thursday morning, a team of officials conducted an inquiry with the president, vice-president, and all the ward members separately and submitted a report to the district collector R Kannan.
The collector said that the issue had been amicably resolved and that the situation would be monitored to ensure Muthulakshmi is able to discharge her duties without any interference.