PERAMBALUR: A section of women from Kavulpalayam who braved the heat to welcome INDIA bloc candidate for Perambalur parliamentary constituency KN Arun Nehru during his campaigning in the district on Thursday got into an altercation with local DMK members minutes later demanding the money “promised” to them for performing ‘aarti’ on him.
Arun Nehru, who commenced campaigning in Elambalur, went on to cover around 50 areas before winding it up at Esanai. In each village, more than 100 women were stationed by DMK members to welcome him with ‘aarti’. Each woman was promised a sum of Rs 100 in return.
Believing this, many women from Kavulpalayam skipped work to line up under the scorching sun and perform aarti, sources said. Almost half of them, however, complained of not having been “paid” and raised the matter with the organising party workers.
A 55-year-old woman from the village who was among those who performed ‘aarti’ said, “Though they (party members) said they will give us Rs 100, only a few received the amount. Some functionaries even took back the money they gave.”
A section of women at Vilamathur also complained that Arun Nehru failed to pay heed to their complaints of water scarcity while campaigning in the village.
When contacted, DMK’s Perambalur union secretary and ex-MLA Rajkumar refuted the allegations. “We did not bring the women to perform ‘aarti’ by promising them a payment of Rs 100. I do not know if locals paid them,” he told TNIE.