MADURAI: A 'red shirt' conference organised by Periyariya Unarvalargal Kuttamaippu against the BJP and the RSS and their ideologies of class, caste and varna system in Madurai on Sunday passed a resolution urging the Centre to pay royalty to TN for using the State's mineral resources like coal and iron ore.
VCK president Thol. Thirumavalavan in his speech hailed Iyothee Thass Pandithar as the first person to speak about Dravidam. "Ambedkarism, Marxism, and Periyarism are the same. The aim of these ideologies is to fight Brahminism and demolish its roots," he said.
"Blue, black and red colours are the symbols of socialism. Constitutional rights exist only during elections. Once polls are over, BJP rules the nation based on Manusmriti. We must fight RSS ideology and must never allow them to rule us," the VCK chief said.
Speaking at the event, Madurai MP S Venkatesan said of the 78 sculptures found in Meenakshi Amman temple, 76 have Tamil inscriptions. "The temple is a symbol against Sanskrit. In India, 10 per cent industrialists own 64 per cent of nation's wealth," the MP said.
The BJP government’s favoritism to industrialists is even worse than what it was in colonial times. "Red shirt is not a colour. It is the symbol of revolution and unity against the RSS and BJP's divisive policies," Venkatesan said.
Periyar Dravidar Katchi president Kolathur Mani spoke on Periyar’s ideologies and his thoughts on social justice. Earlier, Madurai MP S Venkatesan inaugurated a red shirt rally from Kalavasal to the meeting venue in which over 1,000 people from 120 outfits took part.