VILLUPURAM: Villupuram MP and general secretary of VCK D Ravikumar on Tuesday demanded Chief Minister MK Stalin to recognise as martyrs the 12 members of Scheduled Caste, who were hawkers and labourers, and who died in a caste violence in Villupuram in 1978.
Ravikumar thanked Stalin for the memorial for A Govindaswamy and the memorial hall for 21 men belonging to Vanniyar caste who died in protest for reservation for MBCs, announcement of 10 new projects worth `410 crore, including the long-standing demand of the farmers of Villupuram district -the Nandan Canal Project.
He then requested the CM that 12 Dalits killed in Villupuram in 1978 in a clash be declared social justice martyrs.
Speaking to TNIE, he said, “Dalit people and movements are not against the memorial for 21 martyrs of the Vanniyar reservation protest. At the same time, we are also expecting the government to recognise Dalits who died in the 1978 violence to claim the authentic participation of members of the Scheduled Caste in the history of this land. Moreover, the Dalits who survived the incident are still unable to own any business in the market area in Villupuram.”