PUDUKKOTTAI: Dalits of Vengaivayal and caste Hindus of Eraiyur village in Pudukkottai have threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha election, citing failure of the police to arrest culprits involved in mixing human faeces in the overhead drinking water tank in the village. Notably, residents of both these villages said no political party has approached them to seek support.
The 2022 incident has been haunting residents of both Vengaivayal and Eraiyur villages, located in Muttukkadu panchayat, for over 16 months, but the CB-CID probing the case has not been able to achieve any breakthrough so far. The agency has been conducting DNA tests and voice analysis of some of the suspects in search of scientific evidence.
On Monday, over 30 Dalit families erected banners threatening to boycott polls over a delay in the investigation. But it was taken down by the district administration and police claiming permission was not obtained. “We want the culprits to be arrested without any delay. As a mark of protest, we have decided to boycott the polls,” said KR Murugesan(57), an auto driver from Vengaivayal.
“We are under constant police surveillance and have lost our freedom in our own village. We are being interrogated by officials on regular basis and called for various tests. After losing mental peace what is the point in participating in elections,” he added. “All parties are using us for their own political gain. Campaign vehicles are entering nearby villages but are skipping our village. They don’t see 30 families in Vengaivayal as a big number,” complained another resident.
A banner announcing poll boycott was erected in Eraiyur village in February but that too was subsequently taken down. M Kadhir of Eraiyur village, said, “Every month, we have to appear before CB-CID officials for various tests. We are slapped with back-to-back cases for allegedly practising untouchability. Boycotting election is the only way to show our protest.”
“Parties use our issue for campaigns and TV ads, but skip our village during campaigning. We are being used as campaign material,” said another resident.