PATHANAMTHITTA: Even after 17 years of struggle for land at Chengara in Pathanamthitta, nearly 2,000 people from marginalised communities here are still deprived of the basic right to exercise their franchise.
On polling day, a board titled ‘Dr Ambedkar Smaraka Mathruka Gramam’ welcomed one to this rural settlement, where 598 families have been living following a major protest for land 2007. An eerie silence prevailed here, even as the rest of the state celebrated democracy.
“We hail from different districts, where our names were on the voters’ list. After the land struggle, most of our names were removed from the voters’ list,” said T R Sasi, the president of Ambedkar Smaraka Mathruka Grama Vikasana Society (ASMGVS). “About 2,000 people here can’t vote.”
Sasi added that the community had given several applications and complaints to district and state authorities. “There have been denying our fundamental right citing legal complications,” he lamented.
The community had also approached the BJP district committee, seeking former Rajya Sabha MP Suresh Gopi’s intervention, but there was no further development.
Sasi said the community would “vote en masse for whichever party that helps us”.
When asked about the issue, Konni MLA Jenish Kumar said the people were supposed to be on the voters’ list. “I will inquire if there are any anomalies in the matter,” he said.