NAGAPATTINAM: AMID protests by CPM and Congress functionaries, Governor RN Ravi on Sunday visited Keezhvenmani in the district and interacted with a survivor of the massacre that left at least 44 dead in the village in 1968.
The Left parties, the VCK and the DK expressed their opposition to the governor’s visit by staging a black flag protest even as he was en route to Keezhvenmani. In Tiruvarur, the party workers, including Nagapattinam MP M Selvaraj, gathered near the railway junction with black flags and raised slogans against the governor for his remarks allegedly belittling the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi. They also decried his “obstructionist” attitude regarding various bills passed by the state Assembly and alleged he was visiting the village as an “RSS agent” to further its agenda.
Even as the protesters started to march, the police stopped them. Following this the protesters blocked the road and continued to raise slogans. The police subsequently detained them, including MP Selvaraj, and released them later.
At the entrance arch of Keezhvenmani, CPM’s Nagapattinam secretary V Marimuthu and Nagapattinam Congress Committee’s district president RN Amirtharaja led the protest against the governor. Party workers also protested near Kilvelur bus stand and near Andavar College of Nursing.
Later, Governor Ravi met G Palanivel, a survivor in the December 25, 1968, massacre, and his family members at his residence. He also honoured Palanivel, who is said to be in his seventies. Palanivel also joined the governor and Zoho Corporation’s founder-CEO Sridhar Vembu at an event organised by Tamil Seva Sangam at Andavar College of Nursing in Poravacheri.
Addressing the gathering, the governor said, “The plight of the residents of Keezhvenmani remains miserable even 55 years after the incident. The per capita income in our state is 2.75 lakh rupees. I doubt if the villagers’ income is even more than Rs 40,000.”
Ravi added that some people became “rich and very rich” whereas some others became “super rich” by addressing poverty. “Under the leadership of the prime minister, at least 35 crore people have come out of poverty. But when I spot such villages, I doubt if the Union government schemes are reaching the masses,” he added.
Later, the governor visited Velankanni and Nambiyar Nagar where he worshipped at Our Lady of Good Health and Shri Adhipattha Nayanmar Temple respectively.