CHENNAI: Governor RN Ravi on Wednesday lamented that there has been an alarming 40% surge in crimes against Dalits during the past three years in Tamil Nadu, despite the pervasive noise on social justice in the state. He said the conviction rate in rape cases involving Scheduled Castes victims in Tamil Nadu is shockingly half of the national average.
“Each year, we mourn the loss of countless innocent lives due to the inhumane practice of manual scavenging. These individuals are the primary victims of liquor mafias, as evidenced by the tragic spurious liquor incidents in Kallakurichi, Chengalpettu and Villupuram,” the governor said in his speech at the Gandhi Jayanthi Day celebration here.
“Who died in Chengalpattu last year? More than 60 of the people who died of illicit liquor in Kallakurichi were Dalits. They are victims at all levels - social discrimination, economic discrimination and it pains me when I go through the newspaper every day. It happens in other parts of the country also. But the way it is happening in Tamil Nadu is unacceptable.
It is at such a higher order. Students are refusing to eat the meals because the meals have been cooked by a Dalit woman. This is painful,” the governor said. When asked about the charges of the governor, Law Minister S Regupathy told reporters at the DMK headquarters that there is no information about attacks on Dalits just because they belong to that community in Tamil Nadu. “Here we treat each other as our brethren. No one is inquiring about the caste or religion of other people,” he added.
Earlier in the day, in Pudukkottai, talking to reporters, the minister dismissed the governor’s charge that the Gandhi Mandapam in Chennai was not maintained well. “Regular cleaning activities are carried out by the corporation at prominent locations along the Marina and public places,” the minister said. On Tuesday, the governor had expressed outrage over finding liquor bottles on the premises of the Gandhi Mandapam.