CHENNAI: Tempers flared in the Assembly on Friday during a heated exchange between DMK floor leader E V Velu and Minister C T R Nirmal Kumar over atrocities against Dalits during the previous DMK government.
Former minister Velu dismissed as “incorrect” the statement made by PWD Minister Aadhav Arjuna a day before in the Assembly that Tamil Nadu witnessed the highest number of atrocities against Dalits in the country over the past five years. Citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Velu said Uttar Pradesh had recorded the highest number of cases against people belonging to the Scheduled Caste communities, followed by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra. He said Uttar Pradesh recorded around 71,000 such cases in five years, while Tamil Nadu had recorded 8,110 cases. Tamil Nadu stood 10th in cases registered under the SC category and 15th in cases involving Scheduled Tribes, he said. Further, Velu said the figures showed that the previous government had maintained law and order and ensured that cases were registered.
However, Nirmal Kumar rejected the claim and alleged that many cases against Dalits were not registered during the previous DMK regime. He further cited an incident in Ramanathapuram, in which a minister had allegedly assaulted a Dalit tahsildar. Nirmal Kumar claimed that the minister’s portfolio was changed after protests, but no case was registered against him. He said that if all cases had been registered during the previous regime, Tamil Nadu would have topped the NCRB list.