500 Mothakkal villagers in Tamil Nadu boycott Lok Sabha elections

A villager said that all the political transitions over the last 70 years were of no use to them and that no official reached out even after their efforts showcasing their dissent.

Adi Dravidar voters in front of a banner declaring their boycott from polls, kept at Mothakkal entrance (Photo | Express)

TIRUVANNAMALAI: For the last three weeks, a banner kept at the village entrance and protest flags in front of their 200 households have signified the dissent of over the 1,000 Adi Dravidars residing in Mothakkal, Thandrampet Taluk. With their long-pending demands unmet, around 500 eligible Dalit voters from the community on Friday boycotted the Lok Sabha elections.

A villager said that all the political transitions over the last 70 years were of no use to them and that no official reached out even after their efforts showcasing their dissent. The villagers had submitted a petition with 16 grievances to the tahsildar, sub-inspector and the collector.

Key to their demands was a common graveyard for the Adi Dravidar community, as they were allegedly discriminated against and denied access to pathways leading to burial grounds by several caste Hindus and the panchayat president. The panchayat has not yet constructed a public toilet, a decade-old promise reportedly neglected by the panchayat president, said one Mariyappan. Further, they sought additional pieces of land for constructing houses and proper road facilities with streetlights.